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The Imperfect tense (Fr: Imparfait)is one of the three past tenses in French. (the other two being 'Passé Composé' and 'Passé Simple')
Of those three, the Imperfect might be the one which is the least common.
The Imperfect Stem is generally formed by removing -ons from the verb in its 2nd person plural, (Nous-form, or We-form).
-er Verbs
| Danser</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">Nous dansons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">Stem: Dans-</th>
</tr>
</table>
-re Verbs
| Entendre</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">Nous entendons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">Stem: Entend-</th>
</tr>
</table>
-ir Verbs
| Finir</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">Nous finissons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">Stem: Finiss-</th>
</tr>
</table>
It's one of the easiest tenses to learn, with only one verb not following the normal rule for the stem: Être.
Être
| Stem: Ét-</th>
|
</table>
The Imparfait is conjugated the same way as the Conditionnel, just add to the Imperfect Stem:
| Je |
-ais |
| Tu |
-ais |
| Il/elle/on |
-ait |
| Nous |
-ions |
| Vous |
-iez |
| Ils/elles |
-aient |
Remember that all verbs except Être are conjugated in the same way in the Imperfect - so even the irregular ones in the Présent!
| Verb:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Être</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="1" align="right">Stem:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Ét-</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Je</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>étais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Tu</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>étais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Il/elle/on</th>
<td>-ait</td>
<td>était</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Nous</th>
<td>-ions</td>
<td>étions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Vous</th>
<td>-iez</td>
<td>étiez</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ils/elles</th>
<td>-aient</td>
<td>étaient</td>
</tr>
</table>
| Verb:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Avoir</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="1" align="right">Stem:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Nous avons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Je</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>avais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Tu</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>avais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Il/elle/on</th>
<td>-ait</td>
<td>avait</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Nous</th>
<td>-ions</td>
<td>avions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Vous</th>
<td>-iez</td>
<td>aviez</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ils/elles</th>
<td>-aient</td>
<td>avaient</td>
</tr>
</table>
| Verb:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Connaître</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="1" align="right">Stem:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Nous connaissons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Je</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>connaissais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Tu</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>connaissais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Il/elle/on</th>
<td>-ait</td>
<td>connaissait</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Nous</th>
<td>-ions</td>
<td>connaissions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Vous</th>
<td>-iez</td>
<td>connaissiez</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ils/elles</th>
<td>-aient</td>
<td>connaissaient</td>
</tr>
</table>
| Verb:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Aller</th>
|
<tr>
<td colspan="1" align="right">Stem:</th>
<th colspan="2" align="left">Nous allons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Je</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>allais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Tu</th>
<td>-ais</td>
<td>allais</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Il/elle/on</th>
<td>-ait</td>
<td>allait</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Nous</th>
<td>-ions</td>
<td>allions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Vous</th>
<td>-iez</td>
<td>alliez</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Ils/elles</th>
<td>-aient</td>
<td>allaient</td>
</tr>
</table>
