The imperfect tense (l'imparfait) has two primary uses: to describe on-going actions and states of being in the past, and to state habitual actions in the past. The imparfait also has several idiomatic uses. The passé composé and imparfait are each used quite differently in narration.
states of being or past description
The imparfait is used to describe people, places, conditions or situations in the past. Some verbs occur more frequently in the imparfait when they are in the past since they typically describe states of being: être, avoir, vouloir, pouvoir. But these verbs do sometimes occur in the passé composé.
Quand Edouard était adolescent, il n'avait qu'un rêve – devenir un grand cuisinier. Il voulait créer des chefs-d'oeuvre culinaires. Notre jeune escargot gourmand, qui adorait la cuisine française classique, fréquentait les meilleures tables de Paris.
When Edouard was a teenager, he had only one dream – to become a great chef. He wanted to create culinary masterpieces. Our young food-enthusiast snail, who loved classical French cooking, frequented the best Parisian restaurants.
habitual actions in the past
The imparfait is also used to state habitual actions in the past. These past habits are often translated as 'used to, or 'would.' Distinguish between the use of 'would' for habitual past actions (imparfait) and the use of 'would' for the conditional. Note that the imparfait may also be translated by the simple past in English; however, the context, and often adverbs, let you know the action is a past habit.
Edouard: Tu te rappelles, en été à Paris, quand il faisait chaud? On allait toujours à 10 heures du soir chez Berthillon ... Oh, là, là, leurs glaces, leurs sorbets--fraise, framboise, noisette, pistache, des parfums exotiques. Et puis, on se promenait le long des quais, on voyait la Seine qui coulait, on chantait, on se récitait même des vers. Ah, Paris la nuit, Paris là-bas, mmm, en été.
Edouard: Do you remember, in the summer in Paris, when the weather was hot? We always used to go to Berthillon's at 10 o'clock in the evening ... Oh, la, la, their ice cream, their sorbets--strawberry, raspberry, hazelnut, pistachio, exotic flavors. And then, we would take walks along the quays. We would see the Seine which was flowing. We would sing, we would even recite verses. Ah, Paris in the night, Paris over there, mmm, in the summer.
