| A | B |
|---|
| I was at the bus station. | J'étais à la gare routière. |
| You were at my house. | Tu étais chez moi. |
| He was fast. / He used to be fast. | Il était rapide. |
| She was wet. / It (feminine) was wet. | Elle était mouillée. |
| It was dry. / It used to be dry. | C'était sec. |
| We were busy. | Nous étions occupé(e)s. |
| You were late. | Vous étiez en retard. |
| They were alone. / They used to be alone. | Ils étaient seuls. |
| They were with their husbands. | Elles étaient avec leur mari. |
| He was very funny. | Il étaient très drôle. |
| They were very amusing. | Ils étaient très amusants. |
| Everybody was there. | Tout le monde était là. |
| She was sad yesterday. | Elle était triste hier. |
| You were very strong when you were young (polite). | Vous étiez très fort quand vous étiez jeune. |
| The view was very beautiful. | La vue était très belle. |
| The imparfait is used to talk about something which "was happening;" "used to happen;" or things which "were happening" (action or events which may not be completely finished). | It is also used to talk about circumstances at a past moment or for the description of a scene. |
| The verbs être and avoir are almost always used in the imparfait instead of the passé composé when speaking about the past. Therefore if you say J'avais for "I had" or "J'etais" for "I was;" you will be right 90% of the time. | Verbs which have to do with thinking such as vouloir (to want); savoir (to know how); croire (to believe); penser (to think); espérer (to hope); aimer (to like); and détester (to hate) also use the imparfait most of the time. |
