What does the imperfect tense do in French?
What does the imperfect tense do in French?
In French, the imperfect or imparfait is the verb tense used to talk about past events, especially as descriptions. This is why it is often called a “descriptive past tense” since it is commonly used in giving a description for something that happened.
How do you make an imparfait sentence in French?
Look at these sentences using L’Imparfait:
- J’allais au marché… I was going to the market…
- Tu parlais de Jean, ce matin. You were talking this morning about John.
- Elle courait quand le bus est arrivé.
- Nous pensions aller à la plageWe were thinking of going to the beach.
- Vous étiez là ce matin.
What are some examples of imperfect?
The imperfect tense is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the past, especially in descriptions, and to say what was happening or used to happen, for example, It was sunny at the weekend; We were living in Spain at the time; I used to walk to school.
What is an imperfect sentence?
To describe a past action or state which is incomplete, we use an imperfect tense. This tense indicates an action which has gone on over a period time or has happened frequently. It is translated into English by ‘was/were’ + ‘-ing’ or ‘used to’.
What is the Spanish imperfect?
The imperfect (imperfecto) is one of the two simple past tenses in Spanish. It is used for ongoing or recurrent actions in the past. It is also used for descriptions, states of being, and for providing background information about the past.
What is être in the imperfect tense?
The imperfect tense conjugations for the French verb être, along with their English translations….Imperfect of the French verb être.
| Imperfect Indicative | |
|---|---|
| tu étais | you were being |
| il était | he was being |
| elle était | she was being |
| nous étions | we were being |
How can you tell if a sentence is imparfait or passé composé?
Imparfait is used for an ongoing action. For example J’allais en India (I was going to India). passé composé is used for some events that started and ended in the past time. For example Je suis allé en India ( I went to India).
