Imparfait
The imparfait is a tense of the past in the French language, which is similar in structure to the German past tense , but is sometimes used differently. In contrast to the passé composé , with which completed or punctual actions in the past are expressed, the imparfait expresses ongoing, incomplete or already existing actions.
It resembles the Italian Indicativo imperfetto , the Spanish Pretérito imperfecto , the Romanian Imperfectul and corresponds approximately to the English Past Progressive .
education
- Word stem of the 1st person plural ( nous cherch ons = we are looking)
- Appending the ending:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person. | -ais | -ions |
| 2nd person. | -ais | -iez |
| 3rd person. | -ait | -aient |
use
In contrast to the German past tense, the imparfait is tied to certain usage rules, so that i. d. As a rule, no further tense may be used in the following cases: It is used to
- To present background information: Mme. Delacroix a lu le journal pendant que son mari préparait les plats dans la cuisine (= Ms. Delacroix read a newspaper while her husband was preparing the dishes in the kitchen.)
- To describe repetitive actions or habits: Comme d'habitude, elle lisait "Le Monde" (= As usual, she read "Le Monde".)
- Parallel actions, not limited in time: counterpart que je nageais, je pensais au cadeau. (= While I was swimming, I thought about the present.)
- Express comments and explanations in the past: C'était vraiment drôle! (= That was really funny!)
- Description of feelings, people, weather and objects: Il était triste. (= He was sad.)
Signal words for the imparfait are u. a. pendant que (= while), toujours (= always, if), tout le temps (= always, constantly) and souvent (= often). However, if puis (= then, then), après (= after), tout de suite (= immediately) or something similar occurs, which introduces a chronological sequence, the passé composé is used.
According to a different system, the use of the imparfait is described as follows:
- in the case of ongoing actions that are not completed (e.g. Il aimait lire des livres. Elle aimait boire du lait. Ils fumaient depuis 10 années. Elle travaillait dans le jardin.)
- for regular, repeatedly applicable actions (signal words: régulièrement, tout les ans, d'habitude, tout le soir, toute l'année, toujours, souvent)
- to emphasize the course of actions and processes (e.g. He packed everything in his suitcase. The journey went as planned. The camels passed us.)
- for states with an indefinite beginning and end (eg he can cook. He squint. She can sing. He knows nothing about songbirds.) Signal words: avoir, être, savoir, pouvoir, connaître.
- in the case of simultaneity (two actions run in parallel, one main action with a simultaneous secondary action.) Signal words: pendant; être en train de - in the past.
- with habits (of course there is overlap, because habitual actions are also regular and recurring.) Signal words: d'habitude, chaque fois, avant ... - he used to do that ...
- to identify accompanying circumstances and background (i.e. a subplot in addition to the main plot), whereby the main plot (or chain of actions) is described with the passé composé. Depending on the interpretation, it is not possible to make a very clear distinction between accompanying circumstances and background:
- Typical descriptions of the background are: habits, behaviors, circumstances, intentions and expressions of opinion. Background story examples: I was in the kitchen drinking milk. It was cold outside and he put on a warm coat. (After the background story, the questions What was? Or What was already? Are asked.)
- Accompanying circumstances are remarks and comments on the main story, as well as descriptions. Remarks and comments on what happened: z. B. the picture was boring; I was tired; it could be seen that he was proud. Descriptions: e.g. B. He wanted to know, but wasn't really interested. Explanations and information: e.g. B. he ran away quickly to avoid getting caught. Perceptions: music could be heard in the distance; the mood was bad. Intentions and expressions of opinion: I found the picture beautiful; we wanted to come later.
In texts that are written in the past tense, the following verbs are usually in the imparfait:
- avoir - have
- être - to be
- vouloir - want
- pouvoir - can
- savoir - know, can
- devoir - must, should
- falloir (il faut) - must
- connaître - know, know
Keywords for the imparfait are words used to identify:
- Duration
- Repetition
- frequency
- habit
like for example:
- d'habitude - common, usually
- tous les jours - every day (also: every week, month, year, hour, morning, evening, Sunday, ...)
- toujours - always
- souvent - often
- régulièrement - regularly
- autrefois - then, in the past
- ne ... jamais - never
- quelquefois - sometimes
- chaque fois - every time
- chaque jour - every day
- toute la journée - all day
- de temps en temps - from time to time
- pendant que - while
The imparfait is still used for:
- si sentences
- Relative clauses
- with: pendant que, quand and lorsque
- and often in contrast to the Passé composé
Further use in Plus-que-parfait
To form the plus-que-parfait, one needs the imparfait form of être or avoir . Then you use the Participe Passé. For this the frequently used imparfait form of avoir : first the verb form of the 1st person plural ( nous ) in the présent (present tense):
- nous av -ons
The root av- is retained; the endings
- -ais (je), -ais (tu), -ait (il, elle, on), -ions (nous), -iez (vous), -aient (ils, elles)
appended for the respective persons.
| 1st person Sg. | j ' | av ais |
| 2nd person Sg. | do | av ais |
| 3rd person Sg. | il | av ait |
| 3rd person Sg. | elle | av ait |
| 3rd person Sg. | on | av ait |
| 1st person Pl. | nous | av ions |
| 2nd person Pl. | vous | av iez |
| 3rd person Pl. | ils | av aient |
| 3rd person Pl. | elles | av aient |
Special forms
Many verbs that are irregular in the Présent form the imparfait perfectly regularly. (Ex .: faire → je / tu fais ais , venir → je / tu ven ais )
However, the following should be noted:
- For verbs like manger, note the mang e ais (due to the pronunciation: if there were no "e" in between, the "g" would be pronounced as in German. The "e", however, makes it soft.) Other verbs with the ending "-Ger" are: nager, juger, voyager, protéger, abréger.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person. | mang e ais | mangions |
| 2nd person. | mang e ais | mangiez |
| 3rd person. | mang e ait | mang e aient |
- commencer will commen ç ais (see also rules for cedillas : Stands for a C a O , O , or U is from the C a Ç , but is followed by a D or I , it remains a C ). Other verbs with the ending “-cer” are: lancer, annoncer, placer, effacer.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person. | commen ç ais | commencions |
| 2nd person. | commen ç ais | commenciez |
| 3rd person. | commen ç ait | commen ç aient |
- The stem of être in Imparfait, ét- , is another exception.
In the past, the verb être thus differs significantly from the derivation form, which is otherwise generally valid.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person. | étais | étions |
| 2nd person. | étais | étiez |
| 3rd person. | était | étaient |
Example: Quand j'étais jeune, je faisais beaucoup de sport. (= When I was young, I did a lot of sport.)
With étudier there is an unusual duplication of the "i" with all regularity:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person. | étudiais | étud ii ons |
| 2nd person. | étudiais | étud ii ez |
| 3rd person. | étudiait | étudiaient |
Other verbs with the ending "-ier" are: prier, terrifier, trier, varier, verifier.
There are also exceptions like "rire" (laugh)
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person. | riais | r ii ons |
| 2nd person. | riais | rii ez |
| 3rd person. | riait | riaient |
There a second I is inserted in the 1st and 2nd person plural.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ A hint arises from the answer to two questions: Necessary condition I .: Is the story suitable to be written down in a diary or not? In the event that the story could be stored in a diary, the passé would be simple . But if the narrative could not be deposited on a certain day, time, etc., then the imparfait would exist . Sufficient condition II .: But is the narrative complete or not? If it is not completed , the imparfait is complete , but the passé simple is complete . So if both questions are answered with yes , the passé simple follows .
- ↑ Martin Becker: The Ingredients of the Roman Imperfect ( Memento of the Original from January 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF.) In: Günther Grewendorf, Arnim von Stechow (Ed.): Linguistic reports. Issue 221. Helmut Buske, Hamburg 2010, ISSN 0024-3930 , pp. 79-108.
- ↑ Wolfgang Dahmen: Convergence and Divergence in Romance Languages: Romance Colloquium VIII. Vol. 8 of Romance Colloquium, Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1995, ISBN 3-8233-5061-7 , p. 52
