What is the imperfect tense and how do I conjugate it?

The imperfect tense describes something one 'used to do'. It is less specific than the perfect tense, which describes a specific action taking place at a specific time, and is used to describe more general actions in the past. For example 'I used to play tennis' is the imperfect, whereas 'Last Wednesday, I played tennis' is the perfect. In order to conjugate the imperfect tense, take the 'nous' form of the verb and remove the -ons suffix. Then, add one of the folllowing endings accoridng to the subject of the sentence:je -aistu -aisil/elle -aitnous -ionsvous -iezils/elles -aient

MJ
Answered by Michael J. French tutor

3393 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I conjugate a pronominal verb in the present tense?


What is the difference between "tu" and "vous" and when should you use them?


What are the different uses of the perfect and imperfect tense?


How could I improve the register of my French language?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning