📖LearnModule 4 · Lesson 11 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2, completedUnit 3 · L'imparfait — the way things were
C'était — the imparfait arrives
Module 4 of the free French course (CEFR A2, completed), lesson 11 of 30: French has a second past for how things WERE: the imparfait. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 11.
The words
French
English
Say it
c'était
it was
say-TEH
il y avait
there was / there were
eel ee ah-VEH
j'étais
I was
zhay-TEH
j'avais
I had
zhah-VEH
c'était super
it was great
say-teh sew-PEHR
beaucoup de monde
a lot of people
boh-koo duh MOH(n)D
beaucoup
a lot
boh-KOO
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
French has a second past for how things WERE: the imparfait. Its stars: c'était (it was), il y avait (there was/were), j'avais (I had), j'étais (I was).
Et aussi · And also
C'était super! Il y avait beaucoup de monde. The passé composé tells what happened; the imparfait paints the scene around it.
Attention · Watch out
il y avait is one fixed form for singular and plural: il y avait un chat, il y avait des chats. Never ils y avaient.
être, imparfait — the table
je étais · tu étais · il/elle était · nous étions · vous étiez · ils/elles étaient
avoir, imparfait — the table
je avais · tu avais · il/elle avait · nous avions · vous aviez · ils/elles avaient
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with c'était.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out être, imparfait and avoir, imparfait in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.