The imperfect tense in French

The imperfect tense, known as the imparfait in French, is a type of past tense used to describe continuous actions. It conjugates as follows:

être

j'étais - I was being, I used to be, I was
tu étais - you were being, you used to be, you were
il était - he was being, he used to be, he was
elle était - she was being, she used to be, she was
on était - we were being, we used to be, we were
nous étions - we were being, we used to be, we were
vous étiez - you were being, you used to be, you were
ils étaient - they were being, they used to be, they were
elles étaient - they were being, they used to be, they were

aller

j'allais - I was going, I used to go, I went
tu allais - you were going, you used to go, you went
il allait - he was going, he used to go, he went
elle allait - she was going, she used to go, she went
on allait - we were going, we used to go, we went
nous allions - we were going, we used to go, we went
vous alliez - you were going, you used to go, you went
ils allaient - they were going, they used to go, they went
elles allaient - they were going, they used to go, they went

faire

je faisais - I was doing, I used to do, I did
tu faisais - you were doing, you used to do, you did
il faisait - he was doing, he used to do, he did
elle faisait - she was doing, she used to do, she did
on faisait - we were doing, we used to do, we did
nous faisions - we were doing, we used to do, we did
vous faisiez - you were doing, you used to do, you did
ils faisaient - they were doing, they used to do, they did
elles faisaient - they were doing, they used to do, they did

The imperfect is used in the following situations:

When referring to a repeated or habitual action in the past

J'avais l'habitude de suivre des cours de danse - I used to attend dance classes

Le magasin n'était jamais ouvert le dimanche - The shop was never open on Sundays

When describing an action that was happening over a duration of time

Je marchais dans la rue, quand quelqu'un m'a volé mon sac - I was walking down the street when someone stole my bag

Ils étaient en train d'étendre le linge quand il a commencé à pleuvoir - They were hanging up the washing when it started to rain

When describing something in the past

La ville était calme le matin - The city was quiet in the morning

Elle avait les cheveux bruns et portait un chapeau - She had brown hair and wore a hat

More information on the imperfect tense, including common words and phrases we use when using the imperfect tense, be sure to check out Lesson 23 of The Complete French Course.