Quand j'étais petit : the imperfect tense with regular verbs ('used to') | French

Starter quiz

Match the imperfect tense ending to the subject pronoun.

je, tu

⇔

-ais ✓

il, elle, on

⇔

-ait ✓

nous

⇔

-ions ✓

vous

⇔

-iez ✓

ils, elles

⇔

-aient ✓
Which words in French have a silent final consonant?

candidate ✓

employee

call

expert ✓

chatty (m) ✓
Put the words in order to make a French sentence.

1

⇔

elle

2

⇔

chantait

3

⇔

quand

4

⇔

le

5

⇔

patron

6

⇔

est

7

⇔

entré
Select the subject pronouns whose imperfect verb endings sound alike.

je, tu ✓

il, elle, on ✓

nous

vous

ils, elles ✓
Using the 'nous' pronoun, what is the translation of 'we used to eat'?

'nous mangions' ✓
Match the vocabulary together.

je suis d'accord avec

⇔

I agree with ✓

propriétaire

⇔

owner ✓

soutien

⇔

support ✓

définir

⇔

to define, defining ✓

il connait

⇔

he knows ✓

don

⇔

donation, gift, talent ✓

Exit quiz

Choose the correct translations of 'nous parlions'.

we speak

we used to speak ✓

we spoke ✓

we were speaking ✓

we are speaking
What is the imperfect ending for 'ils, elles'?

'-aient' ✓
What is the name given to the phonics feature common to -ais and -ait?

'silent final consonant' ✓
Translate: when I was small, I used to dance each weekend.

1

⇔

quand

2

⇔

j'étais

3

⇔

petit

4

⇔

je

5

⇔

dansais

6

⇔

chaque

7

⇔

week-end
Match the vocabulary.

informer

⇔

to inform, informing ✓

coopération

⇔

cooperation ✓

capable

⇔

able, capable ✓

pièce

⇔

piece, room, play ✓

le mieux

⇔

the best ✓

explication

⇔

explanation ✓

Worksheet

Loading worksheet ...

Presentation

Loading presentation ...

Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

The imperfect tense is used to describe what you 'used to' do when you were younger/in the past.
For imperfect of regular verbs remove -ons from 'nous' present tense and add:-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
Most final consonants are silent, and this is important in imperfect verb endings e.g. -ais, -ait

Common misconception

The imperfect tense is only translated by 'was doing' in English e.g. I was listening to the radio.

The imperfect tense has more than one translation in English according to its use in French. Students need to be aware of the different meanings that might be conveyed when they encounter the imperfect tense e.g. I listened, I used to listen.

Keywords

Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening