In French, when should I employ the imperfect tense?
The imperfect tense is a PAST tense and, (in French) is used to talk about three past things:
- To describe a scene, for example the weather: “il FAISAIT beau”.
- To describe something that was done regularly in the past for example, a hobby: “je LISAIS tous les jours”.
- To describe a continuous action in the past: “je COURAIS très vite”.
Forming the imperfect is relatively easy. You simply take the “nous” form of the verb in the present tense, take of the “-ons” and then add the endings of the imperfect. The endings are: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
For example the "je" imperfect form of the verb faire would be "je FAISAIS" (Take FAIRE in the "nous" form of the present, so "FAISONS", take off the "-ONS", so "FAIS-" and add the corresponding ending, so "je FAISAIS".
