What is the imperfect tense and how do I conjugate it?

The imperfect tense describes something one 'used to do'. It is less specific than the perfect tense, which describes a specific action taking place at a specific time, and is used to describe more general actions in the past. For example 'I used to play tennis' is the imperfect, whereas 'Last Wednesday, I played tennis' is the perfect. In order to conjugate the imperfect tense, take the 'nous' form of the verb and remove the -ons suffix. Then, add one of the folllowing endings accoridng to the subject of the sentence:je -aistu -aisil/elle -aitnous -ionsvous -iezils/elles -aient

MJ
Answered by Michael J. French tutor

3638 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Translate: For my holiday last year, I went to Spain with my family. It was fun because we went to the beach and swam in the sea. I especially loved the food. I would like to go to Spain again, but next summer, I think I’m going to France with my friends.


Explain the usage of the passé compose vs the imperfect tense


Qu'est ce que vous pensez du mariage homosexuelle?


I don't understand when I use the imperfect tense and when i should use the perfect tense!


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning