Common mistakes
Mangeais, mangions, commençais: fix French imparfait spelling
Fix four common imparfait spelling mistakes with manger and commencer. See the six-form table and apply the same pattern to nager and placer.
- A2
- 4 corrections
- Examples and fixes
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Before a, keep the soft consonant sound with ge or ç: je mangeais, je commençais. Before the i in -ions and -iez, use plain g or c: nous mangions, vous commenciez.
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- je mangeaisje mangaisI used to eat / I was eating
Je mangeais lentement.I used to eat slowly.
The ending starts with a. Keep e after g to preserve the soft sound.
- nous mangionsnous mangeionswe used to eat / we were eating
Nous mangions ensemble.We used to eat together.
The i already keeps g soft. Remove the extra e.
- elle commençaitelle commencaitshe used to begin / she was beginning
Elle commençait à comprendre.She was beginning to understand.
The cedilla keeps c soft before a. Use the singular ending -ait with elle.
- vous commenciezvous commençiezyou used to begin / you were beginning
Vous commenciez tôt.You used to start early.
Before i, plain c already has the required sound. Remove the cedilla.
| Subject | manger | commencer |
|---|---|---|
| je | mangeais | commençais |
| tu | mangeais | commençais |
| il / elle / on | mangeait | commençait |
| nous | mangions | commencions |
| vous | mangiez | commenciez |
| ils / elles | mangeaient | commençaient |
Four rows have endings beginning with a: the three singular persons and ils/elles. Those rows need ge or ç. The two remaining rows, nous and vous, begin their endings with i. That is where the extra e or cedilla disappears.
| Before a | Before i |
|---|---|
| je nageais | nous nagions |
| ils voyageaient | vous voyagiez |
| je plaçais | nous placions |
The spelling adjustment protects the consonant sound; the subject still chooses the ending. Elle commençais has the cedilla in the right place but the wrong person ending. Check both decisions separately. Every question below asks for an imparfait form.