How do you conjugate the French Imparfait tense?
This is a question about French grammar.
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Ashley R. answered • 03/16/21
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To conjugate a verb in the imparfait, you first need to take the nous form in the present tense (ie/ regarder = regardons.) Then, you drop the -ons from the end of the verb (regard-) and add the following endings based on the appropriate pronoun:
je - ais ---> regardais
tu - ais ---> regardais
il/elle/on - ait ---> regardait
nous - ions ---> regardions
vous -iez. ---> regardiez
ils/elles -aient ---> regardaient
*Note, the je, tu, il, and ils forms of the imparfait all sound exactly the same, but the spelling changes.
Mohamed R.
An easiest way is simply replacing the present "terminaisons" that are added to the verb stem (regard) and replace them with the imparfait "terminaisons" (ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient). That goes for regular verbs (regarder, lancer, jouer etc. For the irregular verbs (finir, saisir, choisir etc.) you add "ssais" "ssais", "ssait", "ssions" "ssiez", "ssaient" to the verb stem "fini" so we have "je finissais" "tu finissais" "il/elle finissait" "nous finissions" vous finissiez, ils/elles finissaient. Hopefully, this helps.
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03/25/21
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Thierno G.
First and foremost you have to understand that in French, verbs are divided into 3 categories: - Verbs ending with ER such as mangER, dansER, MontER... are called first group verbs - Verbs ending with IR such ReflechIR, FinIR, ApplaudIR.... are called second group verbs - Remainaing verbs such as attendRE, s'assOIR, ApparaitRE , VaincRE, boiRE, vOIR ... are called third group verbs. Once you know which group the verb you are about to use is, you can add the following ending to the verb without the initial ending * First and third group verbs : AIS, AIS, AIT , IONS, IEZ, AIENT Example: Regarder: Je regardAIS, tu regardAIS, il/elle regardAIT, nous regardIONS, vous regarDIEZ, ils/elles regardAIENT Convaincre: Je convaincrAIS, tu convaincrAIS, il/elle convaicrAIT, nous convainCRIONS, vous convaincrIEZ, ils/elles convaincrAIENT * Second group verbs: ISSAIS, ISSAIS, ISSAIT, ISSIONS, ISSIEZ, ISSAIENT Refflechir: Je reflechISSAIS, tu ReflechISSAIS, il/elle reflechISSAIT, nous reflechISSIONS, vous reflechISSIEZ, ils/elles reflechISSAIENT Note: Start always with identifying the group of the verb then add the above endings. Good luck in your journey with French Tenses03/24/21