Imparfait Tense

Formation de l’imparfait

Add the following stems to the “nous” conjugation of the verb

être has an irregular stem — “ét”

je -ais	nous -ions
tu -ais	vous -iez
il/elle/on -ait	ils/elles -aient

L’usage de l’imparfait

IMPARFAIT	PASSÉ COMPOSÉ
Describe a state of being in the past	Describe an isolated event (that took place one time, or a limited number of times) or an action that is limited or constrained by time.
Describe a state of mind in the past	Describe a series of isolated events in the past
Describe what one used to do	Describe an action that interrupted an ongoing action in the past
Describe repeated or habitual actions in the past	Describe actions that advanced the narrative (that move the story along).
Describe an ongoing action in the past that may be interrupted by another action
Make a suggestion (invitation) “How about we…”
Describe the circumstances surrounding events or situations in the past. (e.g. weather, time, what one was wearing, physical description, etc…)

TLDR - Passé Composé is used for isolated actions while Imparfait is used for descriptions, repeated actions, ongoing actions that began in the past, etc.