français · B1 · verb · 4 minutes
Avoir in the imparfait
Describe what someone had, felt, or repeatedly experienced.
Understand the choice
Avoir in the imparfait covers possessions, age, physical states, and circumstances that lasted or recurred. It often translates English “was” in expressions such as avoir faim, peur, chaud, or besoin.
Core rule: Use the present nous form avons minus -ons to get av-, then add the regular imparfait endings.
Notice it in context
Nous avions souvent faim après l’entraînement.
We were often hungry after training.
Avions carries nous and imperfect meaning; souvent establishes repetition; avoir faim stays intact.
Elle avait vingt ans et elle avait déjà un emploi.
She was twenty and already had a job.
French uses avait for both age and possession.
Vous aviez besoin d’aide ce matin-là.
You needed help that morning.
Avoir besoin de remains a fixed expression in the imperfect.
What to remember
- Ce matin-là identifies a past morning; ce matin alone usually refers to today.
- The present nous form reveals the stem for almost every verb: nous avons → av-.
Common trap: Do not use était for age or hunger. Say il avait dix ans and il avait faim.