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!)
Je mangeais des pâtes.
I used to eat pasta.
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?
For the question: Nous voyagions souvent en été . To me this reads as “we often used to travel in the summer” if it was the imparfait. But the translation says “we traveled often in the summer”.
I make this out to be the passé composé which should be nous avons souvent voyagé en été
Help!
The "often" is the key word that indicates that the imparfait is called for. It is a repeated action in the past. There are many ways to translate this into English, not only the one you quote. One could also translate it as "We were traveling...". Which one is the most appropriate one is determined by context.
For the question: Nous voyagions souvent en été . To me this reads as “we often used to travel in the summer” if it was the imparfait. But the translation says “we traveled often in the summer”.
I make this out to be the passé composé which should be nous avons souvent voyagé en été
Help!
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Unfortunately I make lots of mistakes in spelling and often do not answer a question. These can be caused by my clumsiness when using touch screen tablets. It does not necessarily mean that I didn't know the answers. Would it be possible for Kwiziq to introduce a filter which allows the learner to override these "mistakes". I make spelling mistakes using touch screen tablets I would never make when writing long hand. It seems that my keyboard skills are being tested not just my French.
Unfortunately I make lots of mistakes in spelling and often do not answer a question. These can be caused by my clumsiness when using touch screen tablets. It does not necessarily mean that I didn't know the answers. Would it be possible for Kwiziq to introduce a filter which allows the learner to override these "mistakes". I make spelling mistakes using touch screen tablets I would never make when writing long hand. It seems that my keyboard skills are being tested not just my French.
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When do we use "changer de" and when do we use "changer"? What is their difference?
Thank you
Hi Joan,
When you use the verb 'changer' the subject is doing the "changing".
e.g.
Il a beaucoup changé, on ne le reconnait plus.
(He has changed a lot, you don't recognise him any more.)
With 'changer de' it is the object doing the "changing".
Je vais changer de coiffeur = I am going to change my hairdresser
Je vais changer de robe/de pantalon = I am going to change my dress/trousers
Hope this helps!
Hi Joan,
Changer de and changer have a very similar meaning albeit not exactly the same.
Changer de -- to switch, to change over, a change of something
Changer -- to change, to exchange
Nous changions de voiture tous les ans. -- We used to have a change of cars every year.
Nous changions la voiture tous les ans. -- We used to change the car every year.
That's my understanding of the matter, but the opinion of a native speaker would be appreciated.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Hi Cécile,
this is an interesting explanation that I am still not entirely clear about.
Would the sentence "Je change ma robe." be incorrect? And if not, how would it be translated?
-- Chris.
Hi Chris,
Yes, you can say 'Je change ma /de robe car j'ai fait une tâche dessus'.
or even 'Je change ma/de voiture cette année.
I was trying to simplify the different usages of 'changer'
Changer ( intransitive verb) means just 'to change'.
e.g. Cette ville a beaucoup changé depuis la guerre. (This town has changed a lot since the war.)
Il change en ce moment, il devient vraiment méchant.
(He is changing at the moment, he is becoming nasty.)
In the case of transitive usages of 'changer quelque chose':
it conveys 'to bring change to something'or 'to replace something':
Changer une ampoule = to change a light bulb
Changer le monde = to change the world
Changer les draps = to change the sheets
'Changer DE quelque chose' will usually mean 'to switch something' or 'to get a different something'
Changer de T-shirt, changer d'avis /d'idée (to change one's mind), changer de couleur. etc...
A big difference in meaning between "Je veux changer le pays" (I want to change the country) and "Je veux changer de pays" (I want to leave the country)!
Hope it is clearer...
My 2 bits: I want 'a change of' country (changer de).
I want 'to change' (changer,trans) the country.
The country is changing (changer ,intrans).
When do we use "changer de" and when do we use "changer"? What is their difference?
Thank you
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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).
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:
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
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