Lesson 40: L'imparfait — how things were
Quand j'étais petit — the imperfect · A1 → A2 · A2 · Part 2 — Describing the Past
The passé composé tells what happened. The imperfect tells how things were — what you used to do, what something looked like, how you felt. You will build the imperfect from any verb and use it to describe your childhood, your old habits and the weather.
In this lesson
- l'imparfait
- describing the past
- habits
- —ais —ait —ions —aient
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| j'étais | I was | zhay-tay ژے تے | The imperfect of être — and the most useful word in this lesson. |
| j'avais | I had | zha-vay ژاوے | avoir in the imperfect. 'Quand j'avais dix ans' = when I was ten. |
| je faisais | I used to do / I was doing | zhuh fuh-zay ژُ فوزے | faire → nous faisons → stem 'fais-' + -ais. |
| je jouais | I used to play | zhuh zhoo-ay ژُ ژووے | jouer → nous jouons → jou-. Regular -er verbs are the easiest. |
| j'allais | I used to go / I was going | zha-lay ژالے | Note the double l: allais, allait, allaient. |
| je voulais | I wanted | zhuh voo-lay ژُ وولے | 'Je voulais…' is the polite way to ask for something in a shop. |
| il y avait | there was / there were | eel-ya-vay ایل یاوے | The imperfect of 'il y a'. Use it to set every scene. |
| d'habitude | usually | da-bee-tüd دابی تُد | A signal word: if you say d'habitude, the verb must be imperfect. |
| tous les jours | every day | too lay zhoor تو لے ژور | Repeated action = imperfect. 'Tous les jours, je me levais à six heures.' |
| quand j'étais petit | when I was little | kon zhay-tay pee-tee کون ژے تے پیتی | The classic opener for a childhood story. Say 'petite' if you are a woman. |
| souvent | often | soo-von سوواں | Frequency words (souvent, toujours, parfois) all pull the verb into the imperfect. |
| le temps | time / the weather | luh ton لُو توں | The same word means both. 'Il faisait beau' = the weather was nice. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| j'étais | zhay-tay | zhay ... tay | The é is a clean 'ay'. No 'tays' at the end. |
| je parlais | zhuh par-lay | zhuh ... par ... lay | Identical to 'il parlait' and 'ils parlaient'. Context tells them apart. |
| nous parlions | noo par-lee-on | noo ... par ... lee ... on | Here the -i- is heard clearly. This form is unmistakable. |
| vous parliez | voo par-lee-ay | voo ... par ... lee ... ay | Ends in 'ay' but the -i- before it is audible. |
| ils parlaient | eel par-lay | eel ... par ... lay | The -ent ending is completely silent. Never say 'par-lent'. |
| il y avait | eel-ya-vay | eel ... ya ... vay | One smooth block. Liaison throughout. |
Four of the six imperfect endings sound identical: parlais, parlait, parlaient are all 'par-lay'. Only nous (par-lions) and vous (par-liez) break the pattern. Spend your practice time on those two — they are the only ones a listener can distinguish.
Grammar
How to build the imperfect — one rule, every verb
Take the nous form of the present tense, remove -ons, and add the imperfect endings. That is the whole rule. There is only one irregular verb in the entire language: être.
The six endings — and the only irregular verb
Six endings, and they never change with the verb. Note that -ais, -ait and -aient all sound the same: 'ay'.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais à Lahore. | When I was little, I lived in Lahore. | kon zhay-tay pee-tee, zha-bee-tay a la-hor |
| Tous les jours, j'allais à l'école à pied. | Every day I walked to school. | too lay zhoor, zha-lay a lay-kol a pyay |
| Il y avait un petit jardin derrière la maison. | There was a small garden behind the house. | eel-ya-vay un pee-tee zhar-dan day-ryair la may-zon |
| D'habitude, nous mangions à huit heures. | Usually we ate at eight o'clock. | da-bee-tüd, noo mon-zhee-on a weet ur |
| Ma mère faisait la cuisine le dimanche. | My mother used to cook on Sundays. | ma mair fuh-zay la kü-zeen luh dee-monsh |
| Le temps était magnifique ce jour-là. | The weather was beautiful that day. | luh ton ay-tay ma-nyee-feek suh zhoor-la |
| Je voulais te dire quelque chose. | I wanted to tell you something. | zhuh voo-lay tuh deer kel-kuh shoz |
| Nous jouions au cricket tous les soirs. | We used to play cricket every evening. | noo zhoo-yon o kree-ket too lay swar |
| Elle ne parlait pas beaucoup à cette époque. | She did not talk much at that time. | el nuh par-lay pa bo-koo a set ay-pok |
| Qu'est-ce que tu faisais quand je t'ai appelé ? | What were you doing when I called you? | kes-kuh tü fuh-zay kon zhuh tay a-play ↗ |
Dialogue: Two friends remembering their school days
Almost every verb here is imperfect, because they are describing a period, not single events. Listen for the signal words: quand j'étais, tous les jours, d'habitude, souvent.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Tu te souviens de l'école primaire ? | Do you remember primary school? | tü tuh soo-vyan duh lay-kol pree-myair ↗ |
| B | Bien sûr ! Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais chez mes grands-parents. | Of course! When I was little, I lived at my grandparents' place. | byan sur. kon zhay-tay pee-tee, zha-bee-tay shay may gron-pa-ron |
| A | Et tu allais à l'école à pied ? | And did you walk to school? | ay tü a-lay a lay-kol a pyay ↗ |
| B | Oui, tous les jours. Le matin, il y avait beaucoup de bruit dans la rue. | Yes, every day. In the morning there was a lot of noise in the street. | wee, too lay zhoor. luh ma-tan, eel-ya-vay bo-koo duh brwee don la rü |
| A | Nous, nous jouions au cricket après les cours. | We used to play cricket after class. | noo, noo zhoo-yon o kree-ket a-pray lay koor |
| B | D'habitude, je rentrais vers cinq heures. | Usually I came home around five o'clock. | da-bee-tüd, zhuh ron-tray vair sank ur |
| A | C'était une belle époque, quand même. | It was a lovely time, all the same. | say-tay tün bel ay-pok, kon mem |
Say it out loud
- Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais à Lahore. — When I was little I lived in Lahore. 'j'étais' = zhay-tay. Both 'ay' sounds are short.
- Tous les jours, j'allais à l'école. — Every day I went to school. 'tous les jours' flows as one block: too-lay-zhoor.
- D'habitude, nous mangions à huit heures. — Usually we ate at eight. Say 'mon-zhee-on' clearly — the -i- is heard in nous.
- Il y avait un petit jardin. — There was a small garden. Liaison: eel-ya-vay, then 'un' is nasal.
- Je voulais te dire quelque chose. — I wanted to tell you something. 'voulais' = voo-lay. Do not say the s.
- Le temps était magnifique. — The weather was beautiful. 'temps' is nasal 'ton' — the p and s are silent.
Listening practice: Sana describes her grandmother's house
Quand j'étais petite, j'allais chez ma grand-mère chaque été. Sa maison était vieille mais très belle. Il y avait un grand jardin derrière. Le matin, elle faisait du thé et nous mangions ensemble. L'après-midi, je jouais dehors avec mes cousins. Le soir, il y avait toujours beaucoup de bruit — tout le monde parlait en même temps.
When I was little, I used to go to my grandmother's every summer. Her house was old but very beautiful. There was a large garden behind it. In the morning she made tea and we ate together. In the afternoon I played outside with my cousins. In the evening there was always a lot of noise — everyone talked at the same time.
Questions
- When did Sana go to her grandmother's? Every weekend / Every summer / Every winter → Every summer
- What was the house like? New and modern / Old but beautiful / Small and dark → Old but beautiful
- What was behind the house? A school / A large garden / A river → A large garden
- What did the grandmother do in the morning? She made tea / She cooked rice / She read books → She made tea
- What was the evening like? Very quiet / Very noisy / Very cold → Very noisy
Remember this
- Imperfect stem = nous form of the present, minus -ons. parlons → parl-.
- Endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
- être is the only irregular verb: j'étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient.
- -ais, -ait, -aient all sound the same: 'ay'.
- The imperfect describes: habits, background, weather, feelings, states.
- Signal words: d'habitude, tous les jours, souvent, toujours, chaque été, quand j'étais…
- il y a → il y avait (there is → there was).
- The imperfect never tells you a story moved forward — it holds the scene still.
- Passé composé = what happened. Imperfect = how things were.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quand j'ai été petit, j'habitais… | Quand j'étais petit, j'habitais… | 'When I was little' describes a period, not an event. The passé composé 'j'ai été' would mean 'I was (once)'. |
| Tous les jours, j'ai mangé à huit heures. | Tous les jours, je mangeais à huit heures. | A repeated habit needs the imperfect. The passé composé would mean it happened once. |
| Il y a eu un jardin derrière la maison. | Il y avait un jardin derrière la maison. | Describing what the scene looked like = imperfect. 'Il y a eu' is for a single event. |
| Ils parlaient-ont. | Ils parlaient. | The imperfect ending is -aient, never -ont. Nothing else is added. |
Practice questions
- Where do you get the stem of the imperfect? From the infinitive / From the nous form of the present minus -ons / From the past participle / From the tu form — From the nous form of the present minus -ons
- Complete: 'Quand j'___ petit, j'habitais à Lahore.' étais / ai été / serai / suis — étais
- Which three forms sound exactly the same? je / nous / vous / je / il / ils / nous / vous / ils / tu / nous / ils — je / il / ils
- Complete: 'Nous ___ au cricket tous les soirs.' jouions / jouons / avons joué / jouerons — jouions
- What does 'il y avait' mean? There will be / There was / there were / There is / There must be — There was / there were
- Which verb is the ONLY irregular one in the imperfect? avoir / être / faire / aller — être
- 'D'habitude' signals which tense? Future / Imperfect / Passé composé / Present — Imperfect
- How do you pronounce 'ils parlaient'? eel par-lay / eel par-lent / eel par-la-ee-on / eel par-lee — eel par-lay
Homework (30 minutes)
1) Write ten sentences describing your childhood using quand j'étais petit. 2) Underline every verb and check that all six endings are correct. 3) Describe your old neighbourhood out loud for one minute — background only, no events, so every verb must be imperfect. 4) Then re-read the warm-up words at the top of this lesson.
Lesson 40 of 45 · A2 · Part 2 — Describing the Past · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2