Expressing opinions and describing with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)

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In French, to describe something or to express an opinion in the past, you use L'Imparfait.

Learn how to describe and express opinions in L'Imparfait (Indicatif) in French

Look at these examples in L'Imparfait (Indicatif):

Dans un coin de la pièce, une petite fille se tenait debout. Elle avait les yeux fermés.In the corner of the room stood a little girl. She had her eyes shut.

Les clameurs de la foule en colère lui parvenaient à travers les rideaux.The tumult of the angry crowd reached him through the curtains.

À 5 ans, j'avais les cheveux courts.When I was 5, I had short hair.

Le soleil brillait sur la campagne, et les animaux couraient dans l'herbe verdoyante.The sun shone on the countryside, and the animals ran in the green grass.

J'étais heureux à cette époque.I was happy at that time.

Il était une fois, un roi et une reine qui vivaient dans un château.Once upon a time, a king and a queen lived in a castle.
-> Here, note that in French, you literally say "There was once a king and a queen who lived in a castle."

L'Imparfait (Indicatif) is also used for descriptions, i.e. to help visualise the setting or atmosphere in which an action took place, characters, locationtime frame ...

In a similar way, L'Imparfait (Indicatif) is also used to express opinions about the past:

C'était super !It was great!

Cela semblait trop beau pour être vrai.It seemed too good to be true.
When the verb être is used in a past context, it is usually in L'Imparfait (Indicatif) and NOT Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), as it often appears in a descriptive context or to express an opinion.

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Examples and resources

Les clameurs de la foule en colère lui parvenaient à travers les rideaux.The tumult of the angry crowd reached him through the curtains.
Il était une fois, un roi et une reine qui vivaient dans un château.Once upon a time, a king and a queen lived in a castle.
Ce jour-là, nous portions des portions de frites.That day, we were carrying servings of French fries.
C'était super !It was great!
Le soleil brillait sur la campagne, et les animaux couraient dans l'herbe verdoyante.The sun shone on the countryside, and the animals ran in the green grass.
Dans un coin de la pièce, une petite fille se tenait debout. Elle avait les yeux fermés.In the corner of the room stood a little girl. She had her eyes shut.
Cela semblait trop beau pour être vrai.It seemed too good to be true.
J'étais heureux à cette époque.I was happy at that time.
À 5 ans, j'avais les cheveux courts.When I was 5, I had short hair.
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