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Glossary

Imparfait

By Jibber Jabber · Updated

A French past tense often used for background or repeated situations.

In Il pleuvait (It was raining), the imparfait presents the rain as ongoing. Its use depends on how the speaker frames a situation.

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  1. Passé composé and imparfait in French stories In a story, the imparfait often describes a background or a repeated situation. The passé composé often presents an event as completed, but the choice depends on how the speaker frames it.

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Jibber Jabber. "Imparfait." Comprehensible Input French, updated 2026-11-09. https://comprehensibleinputfrench.com/glossary/imparfait/