Forming the imparfait

French has a second past tense, and you need both. While the passé composé reports a completed action ("I ate"), the imparfait paints a background — how things were, what used to happen, ongoing scenes. It is wonderfully regular.

How you form it

Take the nous form of the present (nous parl-ons), drop -ons and add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Only être is irregular (stem ét-).

Insert the right imparfait form

Choose the right form

Say it yourself