This lesson is part of the chapter Past Tenses and Their Use in French.

French Verbs – Imperfect Tense – Irregular Verbs

In this lesson we explore the imperfect tense of irregular French verbs.

How do irregular verbs form the imperfect tense in French?

There is some good news to start. Irregular verbs are formed using the same endings as those that are used for the imperfect tense of regular verbs.

In order to form the imperfect tense of irregular verbs, you take the nous form of the present tense, remove the -ons to form a new stem, and then apply the appropriate endings.

More good news – this applies to every verb, with the exception only of être.

Example: The Imperfect Tense of Aller

Let’s take aller, ‘to go,’ which we know to otherwise be a highly irregular verb.

Nous form of aller in present tense	Stem for the imperfect tense
nous allons	all-

French	English
j’allais	I was going
tu allais	you were going
il allait	he was going
elle allait	she was going
nous allions	we were going
vous alliez	you were going
ils allaient	they were going
elles allaient	they were going

Example: The Imperfect Tense of Boire

Nous form of boire in present tense	Stem for the imperfect tense
nous buvons	buv-

French	English
je buvais	I was drinking
tu buvais	you were drinking
il buvait	he was drinking
elle buvait	she was drinking
nous buvions	we were drinking
vous buviez	you were drinking
ils buvaient	they were drinking
elles buvaient	they were drinking

Example: The Imperfect Tense of Connaître

Nous form of connaître in present tense	Stem for the imperfect tense
nous connaissons	connaiss-

French	English
je connaissais	I knew
tu connaissais	you knew
il connaissait	he knew
elle connaissait	she knew
nous connaissions	we knew
vous connaissiez	you knew
ils connaissaient	they knew
elles connaissaient	they knew

Example: The Imperfect Tense of Croire

Nous form of croire in present tense	Stem for the imperfect tense
nous croyons	croy-

French	English
je croyais	I believed
tu croyais	you believed
il croyait	he believed
elle croyait	she believed
nous croyions	we believed
vous croyiez	you believed
ils croyaient	they believed
elles croyaient	they believed

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