The Imperfect Tense: Grammar Explanation
The
Imperfect tense is an easy tense to learn.
To
form the Imperfect we take the NOUS form of the PRESENT TENSE,
and take off the –ONS to get the Imperfect stem.
To
this stem we add the endings as follows:
je .......................
ais
tu .......................
ais
il .......................
ait
nous .......................
ions
vous ....................... iez
ils .......................
aient
EXCEPTION: There are very few exceptions to this rule.
The main one in ETRE, whose stem is ét. In
addition, verbs like manger and ranger, which have an extra "e" in
the nous form of the present tense, retain this in the imperfect to make the
"g" sound soft (Mon frère mangeait). Similarly
verbs like commencer, which have a "ç" in the nous form, retain this
to make the "c" sound soft (Je commençais).
All
very easy – as long as you have a good working knowledge of the present tense!!
USES OF THE IMPERFECT TENSE
The
Imperfect tense is used in the following cases:
v Description in the past: La maison était
énorme et avait trois fenêtres.
v Describing the weather at a time in the
past: Il faisait très
beau.
v Giving an opinion in the past, c'était + adjective:
C'était magnifique.
v Talking about something that used to
happen regularly in the past:
Nous allions en France chaque
année. On faisait du ski dans les Alpes.
v Talking about how things used to be over a period of time in the past: Mon père avait une
voiture rouge et ma mère travaillait à l'hôpital.
v Making excuses: Ce n'était pas de ma faute. Je voulais aider!
v Saying what was happening, when something
else happened; (one action (in the
perfect tense) cuts across another on-going one (in the imperfect) Je lisais le journal quand mon père est entré dans
le salon. Ma mère travaillait
dans le jardin, quand le téléphone a sonné.
