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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > French > Imperfect Tense

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The imperfect tense refers to the action being taken by the subject, in the sense that they were doing it or that they used to do it. For example : je sortais le chien (I used to walk the dog/I was walking the dog). It's used when one wants to describe an action which is more long term, whereas the perfect tense is more specific about the duration of the event.

It is a simple tense to form, with no auxiliary verb.

It is formed by taking the nous form of the verb in the present tense, and removing the ending. For example : espérons (from the verb espérer becomes espér. Then the imperfect endings are added.

Imperfect tense verb endings

(je) -ais

(tu) -ais

(il/elle/on) -ait

(nous) -ions

(vous) -iez

(ils/elles) -aient

eg. espérer

-j'espérais

-tu espérais

-il/elle/on espérait

-nous espérions

-vous espériez

-ils espéraient

être

-j'étais

-tu étais

-il/elle/on était

-nous étions

-vous étiez

-ils/elles étaient

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