Bonjour ! Welcome to your next lesson.
In our last session, we mastered how to form the imparfait. You learned the golden rule: take the nous form of a verb, drop the -ons, and add the standard endings.
Today, we shift from "how" to "when." The goal of this lesson is to learn how to use the imparfait to describe past habits, states, and ongoing actions. This is a fundamental skill for telling stories and describing past situations, which will be invaluable for everything from recounting past work experiences in a job interview to sharing childhood memories with friends.
1. A Quick Recap and the Core Idea
Remember, forming the imparfait is usually straightforward:
parler->nous parlons->je parlais(I was speaking / I used to speak)finir->nous finissons->tu finissais(you were finishing / you used to finish)être(the only exception) ->j'étais(I was)
The real challenge is knowing when to choose imparfait over the passé composé. Think of it this way:
Passé composéis like a series of photographs, capturing specific, completed actions. Hier, j'ai mangé une pomme. (Yesterday, I ate an apple - done).Imparfaitis like the backdrop of the photo or a long-exposure shot. It describes the scene, what was happening, or what used to happen. Quand j'étais petit, je mangeais des pommes tous les jours. (When I was little, I used to eat apples every day - a habit).
This lesson focuses on three primary uses of the imparfait that create this "background" effect.
2. Use #1: Describing Past Habits ("Used to...")
The imparfait is perfect for talking about actions that you did repeatedly or habitually in the past. In English, this often translates to "used to" or "would".
For a fantastic overview of this, please watch the first part of the following video.
When to use the IMPARFAIT in French // French conjugation course // Lesson 28
The video 'When to use the IMPARFAIT in French' by The perfect French with Dylane clearly explains how this tense is used for repeated and habitual actions.
Watch from 00:23 to 03:00. Pay close attention to the examples given for habitual actions and the keywords the presenter highlights, such as 'tous les jours' (every day) and 'souvent' (often).
As the video explained, certain time expressions are strong clues that you should use the imparfait.
This article, 'Passé Composé Vs Imparfait' from French Today, provides an excellent, practical list of these expressions.
Read the section titled 'List of Expressions Using Imparfait'. You don't need to memorize them all right now, but become familiar with the types of phrases that signal a past habit, like 'tous les jours', 'd'habitude', and 'chaque année'.
Key examples of habitual actions:
Le lundi, je **dînais** chez ma sœur.(On Mondays, I used to have dinner at my sister's.)Chaque été, nous **allions** à la mer.(Every summer, we would go to the sea.)D'habitude, il **prenait** le bus.(Usually, he took the bus.)
3. Use #2: Describing States and Conditions ("How things were")
The imparfait is used to describe a state of being in the past. This includes descriptions of people, places, weather, feelings, age, and other background conditions. It doesn't describe an action, but rather how things were.
imparfait: states of being, habitual actions
This guide from the University of Texas succinctly explains this use of the imparfait.
Read the section titled 'states of being or past description'. Notice how verbs that often describe states, like 'être' (to be), 'avoir' (to have), and 'vouloir' (to want), are frequently used in the imparfait.
This chart provides a clear visual summary of this descriptive function.
Key examples of states and conditions:
- Weather:
Il **pleuvait** beaucoup.(It was raining a lot.) - Feelings:
J'**étais** si contente d'être là.(I was so happy to be there.) - Physical state:
Elle **avait** faim.(She was hungry.) - Appearance:
Il **était** grand et il **portait** des lunettes.(He was tall and he wore glasses.)
4. Use #3: Describing Ongoing Actions ("Was/were -ing")
The third major use of the imparfait is to describe an action that was in progress in the past, without a specified beginning or end. It's the equivalent of the English past progressive ("was/were + verb-ing").
Je **mangeais**.(I was eating.)Nous **dormions**.(We were sleeping.)
This describes what was happening in the background when something else (often an action in the passé composé) occurred.
Je **lisais** un livre quand le téléphone a sonné.(I was reading a book when the phone rang.)
Test your understanding!
For each sentence, identify why the imparfait is used: Habit, State, or Ongoing Action?
Quand j'étais petit, je **jouais** dehors tous les jours.(When I was little, I played outside every day.)Il **faisait** froid et le ciel **était** gris.(It was cold and the sky was grey.)Elle **regardait** la télévision quand je suis arrivé.(She was watching TV when I arrived.)
Show answer
- Habit: The phrase "tous les jours" (every day) signals a repeated action in the past.
- State: This sentence describes the past conditions of the weather and the sky.
- Ongoing Action: This describes what she was in the middle of doing when another event happened.
Putting It All Together: A Short Story
The best way to see the imparfait in action is in a story, where it works together with the passé composé. The imparfait sets the scene, while the passé composé moves the plot forward.
Let's read a short story from the French Today article we looked at earlier. It perfectly illustrates how the tenses work together.
Read the section titled 'Story with Explanations for the Tenses'. As you read, pay attention to the verbs in imparfait (like 'c'était', 'il faisait', 'chantait') and the reason given in parentheses (e.g., background, habit). This will solidify your understanding of the concepts we just covered.
Let's analyze a few lines from that story:
C'**était** le 3 juillet.(It was July 3rd.) -> State (background description of the date).Les oiseaux **chantaient**.(The birds were singing.) -> Ongoing Action / State (describing the background atmosphere).Généralement, je **passais** mes vacances avec mes parents.(Generally, I used to spend my holidays with my parents.) -> Habit (signaled bygénéralement).Je ne **parlais** pas très bien français.(I didn't speak French very well.) -> State (describing my ability at the time).
Conclusion
Fantastic work today! Understanding when to use the imparfait is a huge leap towards sounding more natural and expressive in French.
Key Takeaways:
- The
imparfaitdescribes the past as a setting or a continuous state, not a completed event. - Use it for Past Habits: Actions that happened regularly ("used to..."). Keywords:
tous les jours,souvent,d'habitude. - Use it for States/Conditions: Descriptions of weather, feelings, appearance, age, and background scenes ("how things were").
- Use it for Ongoing Actions: Actions that were in progress in the past ("was/were -ing").
Next Lesson Preview:
In our next lesson, we will continue building on this foundation. We will focus specifically on how the imparfait is used to set the scene for a story, diving deeper into descriptions of weather, locations, and feelings. We will then start contrasting it directly with the passé composé to tell engaging narratives.