2. Limparfait The imperfect tense Talking about events in the past - 2

3. Talking about events in the past French is made easy by the fact that, whereas in English we have five ways of changing verbs to talk about the past, in French there are only two. These two forms are called: LE PASSE COMPOSE (PERFECT TENSE) LIMPARFAIT (IMPERFECT TENSE)

4. The passé composé (Perfect Tense) communicates: 1. I played 2. I have played 3. I did play The imparfait (Imperfect Tense) communicates: 1. I was playing 2. I used to play 3. I played (but I dont anymore)

5. Limparfait - formation The imperfect is easy to form but requires a good knowledge of verbs and how to conjugate them. The imperfect is easy to form but requires a good knowledge of verbs and how to conjugate them. To achieve real fluency and competence in French, you must learn all the parts of the verb: To achieve real fluency and competence in French, you must learn all the parts of the verb: Vous Ils Je Il On Elle Elles Nous Tu

6. Formation of the imperfect tense In order to form the imparfait, you need to follow three simple steps: 1. Look up the infinitive form of the verb. You will find this form in the… …DICTIONARY 2. Find the nous form of the verb 3. Add an imperfect ending There is only one important exception!

7. Step 1 – Infinitives Find the infinitive forms of the following verbs to play to play to dance to dance to finish to finish to choose to choose to sell to sell to wait to wait to have to have to do to do to be to be jouer danser finir choisir vendre attendre avoir faire être

8. Step 2 – Find the nous form of the verbs We play We play We dance We dance We finish We finish We choose We choose We sell We sell We wait We wait We have We have We do We do We are We are Nous jouons Nous dansons Nous finissons Nous choisissons Nous vendons Nous attendons Nous avons Nous faisons Nous sommes

9. Step 3 – adding the correct ending Take the –ons off the nous ending Take the –ons off the nous ending e.g. Nous jouons e.g. Nous jouons Take the nous away Take the nous away e.g. Nous jou e.g. Nous jou You now have your imperfect stem and are ready to add the correct endings You now have your imperfect stem and are ready to add the correct endings

10. Step 3 – Adding the correct ending Je jou Je jou Tu jou Tu jou Il/Elle/On jou Il/Elle/On jou Nous jou Nous jou Vous jou Vous jou Ils jou Ils jou Elles jou Elles jou-ons-ons-ons-ons-ons-ons-ons ais ait ions iez aient

11. Practice For the following verbs, can you follow the steps and write them in the correct imperfect form ? Je (parler) Je (parler) Tu (aller) Tu (aller) Il (partir) Il (partir) Elle (sortir) Elle (sortir) Nous (faire) Nous (faire) Vous (prendre) (careful!) Vous (prendre) (careful!) Ils (boire) (careful!) Ils (boire) (careful!) Elles (manger) (careful!) Elles (manger) (careful!) Je parlais Je parlais Tu allais Tu allais Il partait Il partait Elle sortait Elle sortait Nous faisions Nous faisions Vous preniez Vous preniez Ils buvaient Ils buvaient Elles mangeaient Elles mangeaient Remember: These phrases mean was …ing and used to …

12. The big exception!! You will notice that one nous form does not end -ons Nous sommes You need to use a different stem: JétaisTu étais Il/Elle/On était Nous étionsVous étiez Ils/Elles étaient You will notice the endings are the same as for other verbs

13. Practice You are now ready to write some sentences in French You are now ready to write some sentences in French Check your answers by answering the following questions: Check your answers by answering the following questions: Have you got the correct nous form? Have you got the correct nous form? Have you replaced the nous with the correct subject? Have you replaced the nous with the correct subject? Have you replaced -ons with the correct ending? Have you replaced -ons with the correct ending?

14. Translate the following sentences into French… I was playing I was playing You were speaking You were speaking He used to win He used to win She used to drink She used to drink We were having We were having You were doing You were doing They(men) were swimming They(men) were swimming They(women) were going out They(women) were going out When she was young she played tennis When she was young she played tennis Je jouais Je jouais Tu parlais Tu parlais Il gagnait Il gagnait Elle buvait Elle buvait Nous avions Nous avions Vous faisiez Vous faisiez Ils nageaient Ils nageaient Elles sortaient Elles sortaient Quand elle était jeune, elle jouait au tennis Quand elle était jeune, elle jouait au tennis

15. Maintenant à vous! You should now be able to make up some sentences of your own You should now be able to make up some sentences of your own Write 5 sentences to say what you used to do when you were younger. Write 5 sentences to say what you used to do when you were younger. You can start your sentences… You can start your sentences… Quand j étais jeune… Quand j étais jeune…