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Higher

The imperfect tense

The imperfect tense is used to talk about and also describe things that used to happen regularly in the past. Learn how to form sentences using this tense.

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French
Verbs and tenses
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When to use the imperfect tense and the perfect tense

The imperfect tense and the perfect tense are often used together.

The imperfect describes what was going on/what was happening but is interrupted by the perfect (ie something that has suddenly happened):

  • je mangeais quand tu as telephoné - I was eating when you called
  • il faisait beau quand tu es arrivé - it was sunny when you arrived
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More Guides

  1. The present tense and depuis
    next
  2. Key verbs - auxiliaries, avoir and être, and modal verbs
    next
  3. The perfect tense with avoir and être
    next
  4. The imperfect tense
  5. The pluperfect tense
    next
  6. The future and immediate future tenses
    next
  7. The conditional tense
    next
  8. How to ask questions
    next
  9. The negative form
    next
  10. Reflexive verbs
    next
  11. The imperative
    next
  12. Impersonal verbs and expressions - il faut, il y a
    next
  13. Infinitives and perfect infinitives
    next
  14. The present participle - en
    next

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