Imperfect Tense - Irregular ER Verbs
French: AQA GCSE (2025 Exams), topic 4.3.7
Irregular ER Verbs in the Imperfect Tense
Any 'ER' verb that is irregular in the 'nous' form of the present tense will have an irregular stem in the imperfect tense.
Verbs ending in 'cer'
- Commencer → nous commençons → commenç
- Because 'commencer' is irregular in the 'nous' form of the present tense, the imperfect stem is irregular.
- You add the imperfect endings to the irregular stem.
- E.g. Je commençais.
- These verbs are not irregular in the 'nous' and 'vous' form of the imperfect tense
- E.g. Nous commencions.
Verbs that end in 'ger'
- Manger → nous mangeons → mange
- Because 'manger' is irregular in the 'nous' form of the present tense, the imperfect stem is irregular.
- You add the imperfect endings to the irregular stem.
- E.g. Je mangeais.
- These verbs are not irregular in the 'nous' and 'vous' forms of the imperfect tense.
- E.g. Vous mangiez
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