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- My town in the past: the imperfect (singular)
My town in the past: the imperfect (singular)
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To say what your town used to be like, or what you used to do, use the imperfect tense.
When to use it
The imperfect describes what something was like or what used to happen.
Quand j'étais petit(e) ... = When I was little ...
Avant, il y avait un cinéma. = Before, there used to be a cinema.
C'était calme. = It was quiet.
Quand j'étais petit(e) ... = When I was little ...
Avant, il y avait un cinéma. = Before, there used to be a cinema.
C'était calme. = It was quiet.
Singular endings
Useful phrases
il y avait = there was / there were
c'était = it was
il faisait beau = the weather was nice
j'habitais = I used to live
j'allais = I used to go
j'avais = I had / I used to have
c'était = it was
il faisait beau = the weather was nice
j'habitais = I used to live
j'allais = I used to go
j'avais = I had / I used to have
Translate: Before, there was a park and it was quiet.
- Before: avant.
- There was: il y avait.
- It was quiet: c'était calme.
Answer: Avant, il y avait un parc et c'était calme.
The imperfect says what things were like or used to happen. Stem from the nous form minus -ons (être: ét-). Singular endings -ais, -ais, -ait. Il y avait = there was; c'était = it was.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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