Building imperfect
The imperfect call sign is a time in the past. It indicates an action in the past that has lasted in time and may still be going on. It is the ideal time to describe landscapes or express habits in the past.
Le dimanche, nous mangions chez mes parents.
Avant de venir vous voir, je n'imaginais pas cette région aussi belle.
Let's say it right away, all verbs have the same ending to the imperfect without exception: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
| 1st group | 2nd group | 3rd group |
|---|---|---|
| j'aimais tu aimais il aimait nous aimions vous aimiez ils aimaient |
je finissais tu finissais il finissait nous finissions vous finissiez ils finissaient |
je venais tu venais il venait nous venions vous veniez ils venaient |
Some verbs have a change in the radical at the time of conjugation to the imperfect. The easiest way to remember this is to start from the present tense of the indicative of the 1re person in the plural and remove the ending -ons. Only one exception: verb être (j'étais, tu étais...).
| dire | nous disons ==> je disais |
paraître | nous paraissons ==> je paraissais |
| boire | nous buvons ==> je buvais |
coudre | nous cousons ==> je cousais |
| écrire | nous écrivons ==> j'écrivais |
faire | nous faisons ==> je faisais |
| fuir | nous fuyons ==> je fuyais |
comprendre | nous comprenons ==> je comprenais |
| voir | nous voyons ==> je voyais |
éteindre | nous éteignons ==> j'éteignais |
Warning: Do not confuse present tense and imperfect for verbs in -ier, -yer, -gner, -illier. Confusion can come quickly because the pronunciation is the same. But it would be easy to forget that there are no exceptions in the endings. So we have two i's that are next to each other at the imperfect.
| Present | Imperfect |
|---|---|
| nous crions | nous criions |
| vous criez | vous criiez |
- For verbs of the 2nd group, we add -ss- between the stem and the ending: je finissais
- Four endings have the same pronounciation: j'étais, tu étais, il était, ils étaient. It is important to look for the person to whom the verb is conjugated to avoid using the wrong ending.
- The endings are all the same in the indicative imperfect: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
- Some verbs can have two consecutive i's when you add the ending: nous riions, vous balayiez
- For verbs of the 2nd group, we add -ss- before the ending: nous finissions
- Be careful to determine the subject for endings that are pronounced the same way: j'avais, tu avais, il avait and ils avaient.