Zusammenfassung der Ressource
IMPERFECT TENSE - French
- The stem comes from the nous form
- Three steps to make this past tense
- 1. Get the present tense 'nous' form of the word
- 2. Take '-ons' at the end
- 3. Add on the correct ending
- I: je -ais
- You (informal sing.): tu -ais
- He/she/it/one: il/elle/on -ait
- We: nous -ions
- You (inf.plu. & formal): Vous -iez
- They: ils/elles -aient
- The only verb that doesn't make its stem in this way is etre
- Etre = to be
- I was = j'etais
- You were = Tu etais
- He/she/it/one was = Il/elle/on etait
- We were = Nous etions
- You were = Vous etiez
- They were = Ils/elles etaient
- Examples
- I was waiting
- Present form of 'nous':
Attendons
- Minus the '-ons':
attend-
- Add on the ending:
attendais
- J'attendais
- He was speaking
- Present form of 'nous':
Parlons
- Minus the '-ons':
parl-
- Add on the ending:
parlait
- Il parlait
- We were going
- Present form of 'nous':
allons
- Minus the '-ons':
all-
- Add on the ending:
allions
- Nous allions
- More examples
- Mon pere travaillait dans une banque
- My dad used to work in a bank
- Mes grands-parents habitaient en France
- My grandparents used to live in France
- Je faisais de la danse
- I used to do dance