In L'imparfait, almost all verbs conjugate in the same way, but verbs ending in -ger require a slight spelling change - an extra 'e' after the soft 'g' - to keep the pronunciation [j].
Notice that in the nous and vous forms, the -e of mange has been removed because the -i is enough to keep the g soft.
| je | mangeais |
| tu | mangeais |
| il/elle/on | mangeait |
| nous | mangions |
| vous | mangiez |
| ils/elles | mangeaient |
Listen to these examples:
Je mangeais des pâtes.
I used to eat pasta.
Tu rangeais ta chambre?
Were you tidying your room?
Elle voyageait beaucoup.
She used to travel a lot.
Nous changions de voiture tous les ans.
We changed cars every year.
Vous voyagiez tout le temps.
You used to travel all the time.
Ils mangeaient leurs crottes de nez.
They used to eat their bogies. (ew!)
Here is a non-exhaustive list of -GER verbs:
partager (to share)
etc
See also Conjugate semi-regular -cer verbs in L'Imparfait (imperfect tense)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Vous voyagiez tout le temps.
You used to travel all the time.
Nous changions de voiture tous les ans.
We changed cars every year.
Elle voyageait beaucoup.
She used to travel a lot.
Ils mangeaient leurs crottes de nez.
They used to eat their bogies. (ew!)
Tu rangeais ta chambre?
Were you tidying your room?
Je mangeais des pâtes.
I used to eat pasta.
Q&A
Ron
Kwiziq community member
9/08/17
In the passé composé, i.e. j'ai beaucoup voyagé, the word beaucoup functions as an adverb and goes before the past participle of voyager; however in the present tense «je voyage beaucoup» it follows the verb.
Bonne chance,
Terri
Kwiziq community member
9/08/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
9/08/17
Usually, when you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive, as is the case here (dois + pratiquer), the adverb will come in between the two verbs :)
Bonne journée !
Terri
Kwiziq community member
9/08/17
Ron
Kwiziq community member
9/08/17
Merci pour l'explication parce que je n'ai pas entendu cela expliqué comme ça.
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
8/05/17
Those are two different tenses.
Present tense: nous mangeons, nous voyageons
Imperfect: nous mangions, nous voyagions
Matt
Kwiziq community member
8/05/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
9/05/17
Katie
Kwiziq community member
5 March 2018
3 replies
Used to or was doing something...
Katie
Kwiziq community member
5 March 2018
5/03/18
Used to or was doing something...
Is imparfait more of "I used to do something" or storytelling "I was doing something" ? The examples on this lesson use "I used to..." but on another imparfait lesson they use "was doing."
Je mangeais des pâtes. I used to eat pasta.
Could the translation also be "I was eating pasta" ?
An example on another lesson for l'imparfait is:
Je faisais un château de sable. I was making a sandcastle.
Based on the examples on this page- the translation for could also be "I used to make sandcastle(s)"
Help!
Chris
Kwiziq community member
6 March 2018
6/03/18
Hi Katie,
yes, the Imparfait can express habits in the past or describe the setting of an event which happened in the past.
Le dimanche je visitais le musée.
-- Sundays I used to visit the museum.
Je visitais le musée quand j'ai rencontré Marie.
-- I was visiting the museum when I met Marie.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
6 March 2018
6/03/18
Bonjour Katie !
In French, you have mainly 2 past tenses : L' Imparfait and Le Passé Composé.
We don't have a Continuous past, equivalent to "was doing", so we will use L'Imparfait instead.
It's also L'Imparfait that we use when talking about repeated actions in the past, hence being equivalent to "used to" in certain cases.
Here are links to our related lessons:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/l-imparfait-usage-expressing-continuing-action-in-the-past-imperfect-tense
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/l-imparfait-usage-expressing-habits-or-repeated-actions-in-the-past-imperfect-tense
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/l-imparfait-usage-describing-and-expressing-opinions-in-the-past-imperfect-tense
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !