français · B1 · verb · 4 minutes
Être in the imparfait
Describe past states, settings, and repeated conditions with a single irregular stem.
Understand the choice
The imparfait presents a state from inside its duration. With être it builds a scene, describes age or character, and supplies background against which a completed event can occur.
Core rule: Être is the only verb whose imparfait stem does not come from present nous; use ét- plus -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
Notice it in context
Quand j’étais enfant, notre quartier était très calme.
When I was a child, our neighborhood was very quiet.
J’étais and était both use ét-; quand introduces the past period rather than a one-time event.
Vous étiez déjà au bureau quand elle a appelé.
You were already at the office when she called.
Étiez supplies ongoing background; a appelé is the completed interruption.
Les rues étaient presque vides le dimanche.
The streets used to be almost empty on Sundays.
Étaient describes a repeated past condition; le dimanche marks habit.
What to remember
- The endings -ais, -ait, and -aient sound alike in standard speech.
- Use avoir for age even in the past: j’avais dix ans, not j’étais dix ans.
Common trap: Do not derive the stem from sommes. The imparfait is ét-: nous étions.