Imperfect Tense Conjugation
When to use it:
Use the imperfect tense to describe something in the past that was ongoing. In English this is done by saying something "was" happening. For example: "I was running for an hour this morning", "They were diving in Hawai'i when they saw a sea turtle".
How to use it:
Take of the ending of the infinitive verb (“ar”, “ir”, or “re”). Next, add the appropriate ending from the list below. Imperfect is easier than present tense because the endings are the same for ALL VERBS (yay)! ....except, of course, for the exception (below). There's also no agreement needed! (So you don't have to add an "e" for females or "s" for plurals).
Remove: -ar, -ir, -re Add: -infinitive ending
je = AIS nous = IONS
tu = AIS vous = IEZ
il, elle, on = AIT ils, elles = AIENT
Example:
j'allais= I was going
tu allais= you were going
il allait= he was going
elle allait = she was going
on allait = one was going
nous allions = we were going
vous alliez = you were going
ils/elles allaient= they were going
Exception- Être
The only irregular imperfect verb is être. It's conjugated like this:
je = J’étais nous = Nous étions
tu = Tu étais vous = Vous étiez
il, elle, on = Il était ils, elles = Ils étaient
*Don't forget your accents!
