Quand J'Étais Petit(e) (When I Was Little)

Learning ObjectivesRecognize and form the imparfait (imperfect tense).Use the imparfait (imperfect tense) to describe past habits.Tell stories about childhood memories.Imagine you're looking at an old photo album with your grandmother. 👵 She tells you: “Oh, look! Quand tu étais (When you were) [kahn tew ay-TAY] petit (little) [puh-TEE], tu aimais (you loved) [tew em-AY] beaucoup jouer (to play a lot) [boh-KOO zhoo-AY] avec ce camion rouge (with this red truck) [ah-VEK suh kah-mee-OHN roozh]. 🧸 Tu jouais (You used to play) [tew zhoo-AY] dans le parc (in the park) [dahn luh park] tous les jours (every day) [too lay zhoor]!” The words in bold are in the imparfait (imperfect tense). It's the tense for memories!Real-World ApplicationsTelling your friends stories about your last vacation.Descr...

For this lesson, we'll use verbs you already know, but in the past! Here are a few key examples in the imparfait (imperfect tense).Verb (Infinitive)Imparfait (with 'je')Exampleêtre (to be) [ET-ruh]j'étais (I was) [zhay-TAY]Quand j'étais (When I was) [kahn zhay-TAY] jeune (young) [zhuhn], j'habitais à Montréal (I lived in Montreal) [zha-bee-TAY ah mohn-ray-AHL].avoir (to have) [ah-VWAR]j'avais (I had) [zha-VAY]J'avais (I had) [zha-VAY] les cheveux blonds (blond hair) [lay shuh-VUH blohn].jouer (to play) [zhoo-AY]je jouais (I used to play) [zhuh zhoo-AY]Je jouais (I used to play) [zhuh zhoo-AY] au hockey (hockey) [oh ok-AY] après l'école (after school) [ah-PRAY lay-KOL]. 🏒aimer (to like/love) [em-AY]j'aimais (I used to like) [zhem-AY]J'aimais (I used to like) [zhem-AY] manger (to eat) [mahn...

1. How to Form the ImparfaitRule: For most verbs, you take the nous (we) form of the verb in the present tense, remove the '-ons' ending, and add the imparfait endings:je (I): -ais [ay]tu (you): -ais [ay]il/elle/on (he/she/one): -ait [ay]nous (we): -ions [ee-OHN]vous (you): -iez [ee-AY]ils/elles (they): -aient [ay]Example with 'jouer' (to play): nous jouons (we play) [noo zhoo-OHN] → jou- → je jouais [zhuh zhoo-AY], tu jouais [tew zhoo-AY], il jouait [eel zhoo-AY], nous jouions [noo zhoo-ee-OHN], vous jouiez [voo zhoo-ee-AY], ils jouaient [eel zhoo-AY].2. When to Use the ImparfaitRule: We use the imparfait to:Describe a past situation: the weather, people, places. (Ex: Il faisait beau (It was nice out) [eel fuh-ZAY boh] et les oiseaux chantaient (and the birds were singing) [ay layz wah-ZO...