Forming the Imparfait

Bonjour! Welcome to our next module.

Introduction

In the previous module, we focused entirely on the passé composé. You learned how to form it and how to interpret it in a narrative as a sequence of completed actions—the events that move a story forward. It answers the question, "What happened?"

However, stories are more than just a list of events. They need context, description, and atmosphere. To paint this picture of the past, French uses a different tense: the imparfait (imperfect).

Today, we will focus on the first step: forming the imparfait for regular and common irregular verbs from example patterns. We will break down its formation into a single, highly consistent pattern. In the next lesson, we will explore when to use it.

1. The Core Pattern of the Imparfait

The great news about the imparfait is that its formation is remarkably consistent, even for verbs that are irregular in the present tense. There is one simple, three-step pattern to learn.

To see this pattern in action, let's start with a video explanation.

As you just saw, the pattern is as follows:

1. Take the nous (we) form of the verb in the present tense.
   • Example: nous parlons (we speak)
2. Drop the -ons ending to find the stem.
   • Example: parl-
3. Add the specific imparfait endings:

Notice the pronunciation pattern: the endings for je, tu, il, and ils all sound the same, even though they are spelled differently.

2. Applying the Pattern to All Regular Verbs

This single rule works for all three groups of regular verbs (-er, -ir, and -re). The key is to always start from the nous form of the present tense. For some verbs, like those ending in -ir, this is crucial.

Let's see this applied to -ir and -re verbs.

To reinforce this pattern, take a look at the conjugation tables in the following article. You don't need to read the whole article, just observe the pattern in the tables.

3. "Irregular" Verbs and the One True Exception

Here is more good news: most verbs that are considered irregular in the present tense become regular in the imparfait, because they still follow the nous-form rule.

Let's look at a few of the most common ones.

• Faire (to do/make): Present tense nous form is nous **fais**ons.
  • Stem: fais-
  • Imparfait: je faisais, tu faisais, il faisait...
• Aller (to go): Present tense nous form is nous **all**ons.
  • Stem: all-
  • Imparfait: j'allais, tu allais, il allait...
• Avoir (to have): Present tense nous form is nous **av**ons.
  • Stem: av-
  • Imparfait: j'avais, tu avais, il avait...

There is only one verb in the entire French language that is irregular in the imparfait: être (to be). Its stem is ét-.

Let's see how to form the imparfait for être and get a helpful tip to remember it.

The image below provides a great summary of the imparfait for these three essential verbs.

4. A Note on Spelling Adjustments

Some verbs require minor, logical spelling tweaks to maintain their pronunciation. This isn't a new rule, but rather an application of sound rules you may already know.

• Verbs ending in -ger (e.g., manger - to eat): The nous form is nous man**ge**ons. An extra e is kept before the imparfait endings -ais, -ait, and -aient to preserve the soft 'g' sound.
  • je mang**e**ais, tu mang**e**ais, il mang**e**ait, ils mang**e**aient
  • (but nous mangions, vous mangiez, since 'i' already creates a soft 'g' sound).
• Verbs ending in -cer (e.g., commencer - to begin): The nous form is nous commen**ç**ons. The c becomes a ç (cédille) before endings that start with 'a' to preserve the soft 's' sound.
  • je commen**ç**ais, tu commen**ç**ais, il commen**ç**ait, ils commen**ç**aient

You can see a quick visual explanation of this in the following video.

Conclusion

You've now learned the foundational pattern for forming the imparfait, one of the most consistent tenses in French.

Key Takeaways:

• To form the imparfait, take the nous form of the present tense, drop the -ons, and add the endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
• This rule applies to regular verbs and almost all irregular verbs.
• The only verb that is truly irregular in the imparfait is être, which uses the stem ét-.

Now that you know how to form the imparfait, you're ready for the next logical step. In our next lesson, we will explore when to use it—for descriptions, habitual past actions, and setting the background scene in a story. This will prepare you to see how it works together with the passé composé to create rich and detailed narratives.