KS4 · French · Year 10
Quand j'étais petit : the imperfect tense with regular verbs ('used to')
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IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/6
Your learning goal
I can describe what I and others used to do when we were younger using the imperfect tense of regular verbs.
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Quand j'étais petit : the imperfect tense with regular verbs ('used to'): slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.
Original teaching resources
The original illustrated PowerPoint is available as well as the IllumED text slides. It retains the publisher’s design and credits.
Download original PowerPoint ↓What you’ll learn
I can describe what I and others used to do when we were younger using the imperfect tense of regular verbs.
Key learning points
- The imperfect tense is used to describe what you 'used to' do when you were younger/in the past.
- For imperfect of regular verbs remove -ons from 'nous' present tense and add:-ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient
- Most final consonants are silent, and this is important in imperfect verb endings e.g. -ais, -ait
Words to know
- imperfect tense
- tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past, or to say what was happening
Common mistakes
The imperfect tense is only translated by 'was doing' in English e.g. I was listening to the radio.
The imperfect tense has more than one translation in English according to its use in French. Students need to be aware of the different meanings that might be conveyed when they encounter the imperfect tense e.g. I listened, I used to listen.
For parents, carers and teachers
- Reading task B2b has two versions. Option 1 has comprehension questions in French. Option 2 has comprehension questions in English. Option 1 is included in the video. Teachers might wish to encourage students to look up new vocabulary to personalise their answers to task B3.