Imperfect for Habits

Level 3

Use the imperfect for habits in the past.

How It Works

The imperfect does not count the events. It shows a habit: Cada estiu anàvem a la mar. This sentence tells you what the summers were like.

Time word	Example
cada matin, every morning	Mon paire legissiá lo jornal cada matin.
totjorn, always	Totjorn me levavi a sièis oras.
de còps, sometimes	De còps, manjàvem defòra.
quand èri pichòt, when I was little	Quand èri pichòt, jogavi dins la carrièra.

The time word helps, but the habit is what counts. For a single event, use the compound past or the simple past instead.

Cada estiu anàvem a la mar.
Every summer we went to the sea.
Anàvem is the imperfect of anar.
Quand èri pichòt, jogavi dins la carrièra.
When I was little, I played in the street.
Jogavi is the imperfect of jogar.
Mon paire legissiá lo jornal cada matin.
My father read the newspaper every morning.
Legissiá is the imperfect of legir.
Totjorn me levavi a sièis oras.
I always got up at six.
Me levavi is the imperfect of se levar.
De còps, manjàvem defòra.
Sometimes we ate outside.
De còps marks something that happened again and again.

Using the present for a habit in the past.
Quand èri pichòt, jògui dins la carrièra.
Quand èri pichòt, jogavi dins la carrièra.
Jògui is the present. A past habit takes the imperfect.
Dropping the accent of the nosautres form.
Cada estiu anavem a la mar.
Cada estiu anàvem a la mar.
The nosautres form of the -ar imperfect carries the accent: -àvem.

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Imperfect for HabitsLevel 3

The imperfect for habits needs the imperfect forms and the frequency words, so both come first.

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