| Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Remember, we are practicing imperfect. Ready? |
| J'(pause with a tap of the finger) une amie qui habitait à côté. |
| J'(pause with a tap of the finger) une amie qui habitait à côté. |
| avais |
| avais |
| J'avais une amie qui habitait à côté. |
| J'avais une amie qui habitait à côté. |
| "I had a friend who lived next door." |
| We use avais in this sentence because it's the imperfect form of avoir used to describe a past state. |
| Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? |
| Tu (pause with a tap of the finger) très drôle quand tu racontais des histoires. |
| Tu (pause with a tap of the finger) très drôle quand tu racontais des histoires. |
| étais |
| étais |
| Tu étais très drôle quand tu racontais des histoires. |
| Tu étais très drôle quand tu racontais des histoires. |
| "You were very funny when you told stories." |
| We use étais in this sentence because it's the imperfect of être, used to describe a past characteristic. |
| Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? |
| Il (pause with a tap of the finger) un chien qui s'appelait Max. |
| Il (pause with a tap of the finger) un chien qui s'appelait Max. |
| avait |
| avait |
| Il avait un chien qui s'appelait Max. |
| Il avait un chien qui s'appelait Max. |
| "He had a dog named Max." |
| We use avait because it's the imparfait form of avoir, used to describe past possession. |
| Unscramble the words to make a sentence. |
| Ready? |
| Nous |
| Nous étions |
| Nous étions souvent |
| Nous étions souvent en |
| Nous étions souvent en retard |
| Nous étions souvent en retard pour |
| Nous étions souvent en retard pour le |
| Nous étions souvent en retard pour le bus. |
| "We were often late for the bus." |
| Nous étions souvent en retard pour le bus. |
| Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Remember, we are practicing imperfect. Ready? |
| Vous (auriez or aviez) une voiture rouge, non ? |
| Vous (auriez or aviez) une voiture rouge, non ? |
| aviez |
| aviez |
| Vous aviez une voiture rouge, non ? |
| "You had a red car, right?" |
| Aviez is used here because it's the imperfect of avoir, used to describe a possession in the past. |
| Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready? |
| Ils (étaient or seraient) toujours ensemble à la récréation. |
| Ils (étaient or seraient) toujours ensemble à la récréation. |
| étaient |
| étaient |
| Ils étaient toujours ensemble à la récréation. |
| "They were always together at recess." |
| Étaient is used here because it's the imperfect of être, used to describe repeated behavior in the past. |
| Let's translate some sentences into French. |
| Translate "I watched television every evening." into French. |
| Je, "I," the subject pronoun, |
| followed by |
| regardais, "watched," the imperfect of the verb regarder, |
| next |
| la, "the," the feminine singular article, |
| followed by |
| télévision, "television," |
| next |
| tous, "every," plural masculine form, |
| followed by |
| les soirs, "evenings." |
| Regardais is used here because it's the imperfect of regarder, in the first person singular form (je). It shows a repeated or habitual action in the past. |
| Je regardais la télévision tous les soirs. |
| Je regardais la télévision tous les soirs. |
| "I watched television every evening." |
| Translate "You loved morning cartoons." into French. |
| Tu, "you," the subject pronoun, |
| followed by |
| adorais, "loved," the imperfect of adorer, |
| next |
| les, "the," the plural definite article, |
| followed by |
| dessins animés, "cartoons," literally "animated drawings," |
| next |
| du, "of the," a contraction of de le, |
| followed by |
| matin, "morning." |
| Adorais is used here because it's the imperfect of adorer, in the second person singular form (tu). It describes something you enjoyed regularly in the past — a habitual action. |
| Tu adorais les dessins animés du matin. |
| Tu adorais les dessins animés du matin. |
| "You loved morning cartoons." |
| Translate "She sang in the shower every morning." into French. |
| Elle, "she," the subject pronoun, |
| followed by |
| chantait, "sang," the imperfect of chanter, |
| next |
| sous, "under," used here as "in" the shower, |
| followed by |
| la, "the," the feminine singular article, |
| next |
| douche, "shower," |
| followed by |
| chaque, "each" or "every," |
| next |
| matin, "morning." |
| Chantait is used here because it's the imperfect of chanter, in the third person singular form (elle). It describes a repeated or habitual action in the past. |
| Elle chantait sous la douche chaque matin. |
| Elle chantait sous la douche chaque matin. |
| "She sang in the shower every morning." |
| Listen to me as I speak. Which imperfect verb is used in the sentences? |
| Tu étais très drôle quand tu racontais des histoires. |
| Let's listen one more time. |
| Tu étais très drôle quand tu racontais des histoires. |
| Did you hear étais? Étais, meaning "you were," is the imperfect of être, describing personality or state in the past. |
| How about...? |
| Vous aviez une voiture rouge, non ? |
| Let's listen one more time. |
| Vous aviez une voiture rouge, non ? |
| Did you hear aviez? Aviez, meaning "you had," is the imperfect of avoir, used for past ownership or description. |
| Next… |
| Il avait un chien qui s'appelait Max. |
| One more time. |
| Il avait un chien qui s'appelait Max. |
| Did you hear avait? Avait, meaning "he had," is the imperfect of avoir, describing possession in the past. |
| And... |
| Tu adorais les dessins animés du matin. |
| One more time. |
| Tu adorais les dessins animés du matin. |
| Did you hear adorais? Adorais, meaning "you loved," is the imperfect of adorer, describing something done regularly. |
| Thank you for watching. |
| Now you know how to talk about how someone or something was in the past in French. |
| ...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway. |
| Au revoir ! |
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