THE IMPERFECT

TENSE

The Imperfect Tense:• Expresses action that took place

repeatedly or customarily in the past

• Is often translated with the helping verb “was” or “were”

• Has a special set of verb endings

The imperfect tense endings:

• bam

• bas

• bat

• bamus

• batis

• bant

Add the imperfect endings to an infinitive, minus the -re

amare - re = ama + bam

amabam=I used to love

The capital of Roman Gaul was Lugdunum.

imperfect of amare• amabam

• amabas

• amabat

• amabamus

• amabatis

• amabant

imperfect of tenere• tenebam

• tenebas

• tenebat

• tenebamus

• tenebatis

• tenebant

Lugdunum is present-day Lyon,

France.

imperfect of dicere• dicebam

• dicebas

• dicebat

• dicebamus

• dicebatis

• dicebant

The imperfect of fourth conjugation verbs and third “-io” verbs has an IE before the imperfect endings:

Capiebam, faciebas, audiebat, veniebat, etc.

imperfect of salire• saliebam

• saliebas

• saliebat

• saliebamus

• saliebatis

• saliebant

This bridge is in France

It was built by the Romans

The imperfect tense of esse and posse is

irregular!

imperfect of esse• eram

• eras

• erat

• eramus

• eratis

• erant

imperfect of posse• poteram

• poteras

• poterat

• poteramus

• poteratis

• poterant

The imperfect of ire and its

compounds have an “i” before the

imperfect endings.

Imperfect of ire• ibam

• ibas

• ibat

• ibamus

• ibatis

• ibant

Imperfect of exire• exibam

• exibas

• exibat

• exibamus

• exibatis

• exibant

Gaul was added to the Roman Empire by

Julius Caesar

FINIS