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L'Imparfait (Indicatif) is very easy to conjugate in French, as MOST verbs follow the same pattern of conjugation (EXCEPT for être - Conjugate être in the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)).
Learn how to conjugate (most) verbs in L'Imparfait (Indicatif) in French
Look at these examples:
How to form the L'Imparfait (Indicatif)
1. Take the nous form of the verb in Le Présent (Indicatif)
2. Drop the -ons ending
3. Add the following endings:
| je / j' | -ais |
| tu | -ais |
| il/elle/on | -ait |
| nous | -ions |
| vous | -iez |
| ils/elles | -aient |
Examples:
- parler : nous parlons (we are talking) -> je parlais
- finir : nous finissons (we are finishing) -> je finissais
- faire : nous faisons (we are doing) -> je faisais
- prendre : nous prenons (we are taking) -> je prenais
When to use the French Imperfect Tense (L'Imparfait)
L'Imparfait (Indicatif) is used in a variety of ways where we use very different tenses in English!
Expressing continuing action with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)
Expressing past habits or repeated actions with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)
Expressing opinions and describing with the imperfect tense in French (L'Imparfait)
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