GCSE · French · AQA · Spec 8652 · Foundation

Imperfect tense — 1st/2nd/3rd person singular (F)

'I used to play' and 'I was playing' are the same word in French: je jouais. Meet the tense where one verb does the work of two or three English words.

French · The imperfect

One set of endings, every verb

Switch between the three tables and tap a few cells. The stem (plain) changes from verb to verb. The ending (coloured) never does.

-er and -ir verbs — to speak · to choose · to leave · to come · to open

	parler	choisir	partir	venir	ouvrir
je	parlais	choisissais	partais	venais	ouvrais
tu	parlais	choisissais	partais	venais	ouvrais
il / elle / on	parlait	choisissait	partait	venait	ouvrait

Finding the stem: take the present-tense nous form and knock off -ons. Nous parlons → parl-, nous choisissons → choisiss-, nous venons → ven-. Then add the ending for the person, never to the whole infinitive (parlerais isn't the imperfect). choisir, partir, venir and ouvrir are anchor verbs: other -ir verbs copy one of them, so finir works like choisir: je finissais.

The coloured part of each form is its ending. ★ marks the one stem you have to learn: ét-.

Conjugation table — -er and -ir verbs.

Watch out: Before a vowel, je shortens to j': j'ouvrais, j'entendais, j'allais, j'avais, j'étais.

French · When to use it

Four English jobs, one French tense

What job are 'used to', 'was', 'were' or 'had' doing in each sentence?

Still to sort

Used to … (a habit) (0)

Something done again and again.

Was / were …-ing (in progress) (0)

Something that was going on at the time.

Where the line is: Look at what follows 'was' or 'were'. A verb ending in -ing sends the sentence here.

Was / were + an adjective (0)

What someone or something was like.

Where the line is: Look at what follows 'was' or 'were'. A describing word (tired, dark, nervous) sends the sentence here.

Had (0)

Something someone had.

8 of 8 still to sort.

Pick a sentence, then pick the job it's doing. Each one shows you its French once it's placed.

French · The big trap

Two sentences, one plan

You have to put two sentences into French: 'I was watching TV.' and 'I used to watch TV.'

Which plan is closest to yours right now?

'Was' is étais, so the first one starts j'étais and then the verb.For the second one, I need to find a French word for 'used to' first.Both of them are je regardais la télé. One imperfect verb does the whole job.They mean different things, so they'll need different endings.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

'Was' is étais, so the first one starts j'étais and then the verb.

This is a common misconception

This is the trap almost everyone falls into first. English needs two words for 'was watching'; French needs one: je regardais la télé. 'J'étais regarder' isn't French. Étais is what you want for 'was' plus a describing word (j'étais fatigué, 'I was tired'), but 'was watching' doesn't need it at all.

For the second one, I need to find a French word for 'used to' first.

This is a common misconception

There isn't one to find. The imperfect already carries the 'used to' inside it, so 'I used to watch TV' is simply je regardais la télé.

Both of them are je regardais la télé. One imperfect verb does the whole job.

This matches the evidence

Exactly right. One French verb covers 'was watching' and 'used to watch'. The rest of the sentence, or the story around it, tells the reader which one is meant.

They mean different things, so they'll need different endings.

This is a common misconception

The ending isn't chosen by the meaning. It's chosen by the person: je always takes -ais. So both sentences use exactly the same verb, je regardais.

Translate the idea, not the words. 'Was …-ing' and 'used to …' are each ONE imperfect verb in French. Étais and était are what you use for 'was' plus a describing word, not for 'was …-ing'.

French · Reading

Find the verb that proves it

Hugo remembers staying with his grandmother

Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais à la campagne avec ma grand-mère.

Sa maison était petite, mais le jardin était immense.

Le samedi, je jouais au foot avec mon voisin, et ma grand-mère avait un chien qui courait partout.

Un soir, je dessinais dans ma chambre et ma grand-mère faisait un gâteau.

Et toi ? Tu allais souvent chez tes grands-parents ?

Question 1 of 4

What did Hugo use to do on Saturdays?

Tap the words in the passage that prove your answer.

French · Translation

Your turn: write it in French

1. I used to play the piano. 2. She was taking the bus. 3. You (tu) were tired. 4. He had a cat. 5. I was opening the window.

Translate these five sentences into French. Then tick each verb you got fully right: the right stem AND the right ending for the person. [5 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

1. je jouais: jou- + -ais, with no extra word for 'used to'. (1 mark)
2. elle prenait: stem pren- (from nous prenons) + -ait for elle. (1 mark)
3. tu étais: stem ét- + -ais for tu (fatigué or fatiguée both fine). (1 mark)
4. il avait: stem av- + -ait for il. (1 mark)
5. j'ouvrais: stem ouvr- + -ais, with j' before the vowel. (1 mark)

Model answer

1. Je jouais du piano. 2. Elle prenait le bus. 3. Tu étais fatigué (or fatiguée). 4. Il avait un chat. 5. J'ouvrais la fenêtre.

Ask two questions every time. What job is the English doing? That tells you it's the imperfect. Who is doing it? That tells you the ending.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Every verb takes the same three endings. Tap through the tables below and watch the ending stay put while the stem does all the changing.

What you need to know

The singular imperfect endings are je -ais, tu -ais, il/elle/on -ait, for every verb.
The stem is the present-tense nous form without -ons: nous parlons → parl-, nous prenons → pren-, nous faisons → fais-.
Être has its own stem, ét-: j'étais, tu étais, il était.
choisir, partir, venir and ouvrir are the -ir anchor verbs; entendre, prendre and traduire are the -re anchors. Other verbs in each cluster copy their anchor.
Learn avais/avait (had), étais/était (was/were + a describing word) and faisais/faisait by heart.
One imperfect verb means 'used to + verb' or 'was/were + -ing'. There's no extra French word for 'used to' or 'was'.

The big picture

The French imperfect is a stem plus one set of singular endings: je -ais, tu -ais, il/elle/on -ait. To find the stem, take the present-tense nous form and drop -ons (parl-, choisiss-, pren-, fais-). Être is the one exception: its stem is ét-. One imperfect verb covers English 'used to + verb' (a habit) and 'was/were + -ing' (something in progress). Étais/était means 'was/were' + a describing word, and avais/avait means 'had'.

Key points

1The ending never changes from verb to verb. Only the stem does.

2Before a vowel, je becomes j': j'allais, j'avais, j'étais, j'ouvrais.

3Je regardais can mean 'I was watching' or 'I used to watch'. The context tells you which.

4When a describing word follows 'was', reach for étais/était: j'étais nerveux, 'I was nervous'.

5-ais and -ait sound exactly the same, so when you're listening, the pronoun tells you who is doing it.

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Worked example

Problem

Translate into French: 'My cousin was shy, but she used to go to the swimming pool every Saturday.' (shy = timide; the swimming pool = la piscine)

⚠ Watch out

Writing 'was …-ing' as étais/était plus a verb, as in 'j'étais regarder'. French doesn't build 'was watching' from étais plus a verb. It's one imperfect verb: je regardais. You'll still use étais/était for 'was' + a describing word (j'étais fatigué), just not here.

🧠

Memory hook

Nous minus -ons, then -ais, -ais, -ait. One rebel: être, whose stem is ét-.

✓

Check yourself

Cover the page. In French: 'I used to cook' (cuisiner), 'he was coming back' (revenir, like venir), 'you (tu) were sad' (triste), 'she had a sister'. One verb each: right stem, right ending?

Flashcards

(12)

What are the imperfect endings for je, tu and il/elle/on?

-ais, -ais, -ait: je parlais, tu parlais, il parlait.

How do you find the imperfect stem of a verb?

Take the present-tense nous form and drop -ons: nous parlons → parl-.

What is the imperfect stem of être?

ét-: j'étais, tu étais, il était. It's the one stem that doesn't come from the nous form.

Imperfect of choisir with je and il?

je choisissais, il choisissait (stem choisiss-, from nous choisissons).

Imperfect of partir and venir with je?

je partais (part-), je venais (ven-).

Imperfect of ouvrir with je?

j'ouvrais: stem ouvr-, and je becomes j' before the vowel.

Imperfect of prendre with il?

il prenait: the stem is pren- (nous prenons), not prend-.

Imperfect of entendre and traduire with tu?

tu entendais (entend-), tu traduisais (traduis-).

Imperfect of aller, avoir and faire with il?

il allait, il avait, il faisait: ordinary endings on all-, av- and fais-.

What do avais/avait and étais/était mean?

avais/avait = had. étais/était = was/were + a describing word (j'étais nerveux).

How do you say 'I used to play' and 'I was playing'?

Both are je jouais. No word for 'used to', and no étais.

What is an anchor verb?

A model verb: other verbs in its cluster build the imperfect the same way (finir copies choisir: je finissais).

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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One set of endings, every verb

Four English jobs, one French tense

Two sentences, one plan

Find the verb that proves it

Your turn: write it in French

More AQA GCSE French topics