Join Teacherbot Today!

L’imparfait is one of the past tenses in French. It is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as to set the scene or provide background information.

Here are some lessons on l’imparfait in the French language:

1. Formation of l’imparfait:
   • Regular verbs: Take the nous form of the present tense, remove the -ons ending, and add the appropriate endings (-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient).
   • Irregular verbs: Each verb has its own set of endings. Some common irregular verbs in l’imparfait include être (j’étais, tu étais, il/elle était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils/elles étaient) and avoir (j’avais, tu avais, il/elle avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils/elles avaient).
2. Uses of l’imparfait:
   • Describing ongoing actions in the past: Je lisais un livre (I was reading a book).
   • Describing repeated actions in the past: Nous allions souvent au parc (We used to go to the park often).
   • Setting the scene or providing background information: Il faisait beau ce jour-là (It was a beautiful day that day).
3. Differences between l’imparfait and passé composé:
   • L’imparfait is used for ongoing or repeated actions in the past, while passé composé is used for completed actions.
   • L’imparfait is used for background information or setting the scene, while passé composé is used for the main events or actions.
   • L’imparfait is often used with expressions such as tous les jours (every day), souvent (often), and d’habitude (usually), while passé composé is used with specific time expressions such as hier (yesterday) or la semaine dernière (last week).
4. Examples of l’imparfait in sentences:
   • Quand j’étais jeune, je jouais au football tous les jours (When I was young, I used to play football every day).
   • Il faisait froid et il pleuvait quand nous sommes arrivés (It was cold and raining when we arrived).
   • Pendant les vacances, nous allions souvent à la plage (During the holidays, we used to go to the beach often).

Remember to practice using l’imparfait in various contexts to become more comfortable with its usage.