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FrenchConjugationImparfait

Manger (to eat) · Imparfait

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Manger in the French imparfait is: je mangeais, tu mangeais, il/elle/on mangeait, nous mangions, vous mangiez, ils/elles mangeaient. The imparfait of manger uses the stem 'mange-' with an inserted 'e' for je/tu/il/ils forms (the endings start with -a). 'Je mangeais' (I was eating) — note the 'e' before 'ais'. Nous/vous DON'T need the extra 'e' because their endings start with -i ('mangions', 'mangiez').

manger conjugation in the Imparfait
To EatManger
I used to eat
je mangeais
you used to eat
tu mangeais
he/she used to eat
il/elle/on mangeait
we used to eat
nous mangions
you used to eat
vous mangiez
they used to eat
ils/elles mangeaient
Examples

Manger (to eat) in context

Sentences that use manger in the imparfait. Tap each to hear it.

Chaque dimanche je mangeais chez ma grand-mère.

Every Sunday I used to eat at my grandmother's.

Tu mangeais quoi quand tu étais petit?

What did you used to eat when you were little?

Il mangeait comme quatre.

He used to eat like four people.

Nous mangions ensemble chaque soir.

We used to eat together every night.

Vous mangiez souvent au restaurant?

Did you often eat at restaurants?

Ils mangeaient seulement bio.

They used to eat only organic.

Tip

Working with the imparfait

The imparfait paints the background of a past scene: weather, age, habits, descriptions, ongoing actions that get interrupted. "Il faisait nuit" (it was nighttime), "j'avais cinq ans" (I was five years old), "je marchais quand tu m'as appelé" (I was walking when you called me). The imparfait is almost completely regular — the stem comes from the nous form of the present (nous parlons → je parlais), with only être being truly irregular (j'étais). The contrast with passé composé is the single most important past-tense distinction in French: imparfait = background or habitual; passé composé = completed event.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate manger in the imparfait?
Manger in the imparfait: je mangeais, tu mangeais, il/elle/on mangeait, nous mangions, vous mangiez, ils/elles mangeaient. The extra 'e' appears for je/tu/il/ils (whose endings -ais, -ait, -aient start with -a) but NOT for nous/vous (endings -ions, -iez start with -i).
Why do je/tu/il need the extra 'e' but nous/vous don't?
The -ger spelling rule operates only before -a or -o. Imparfait endings: je -ais (starts with a → insert e: mangeais), tu -ais (mangeais), il -ait (mangeait), ils -aient (mangeaient). But nous -ions (starts with i → no insertion: mangions), vous -iez (mangiez). The 'e' is only needed when a hard-g would otherwise emerge.
Do all -ger verbs follow this pattern?
Yes — every French -ger verb shares manger's spelling rule: voyager (je voyageais), nager (je nageais), changer (je changeais), ranger (je rangeais), partager (je partageais), plonger (je plongeais). Once you know one -ger verb, you know all of them in the imparfait.
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More tenses of Manger (To Eat)

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Manger (to eat) · Passé Composé
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Manger (to eat) · Subjonctif

More verbs in imparfait

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Manger (to eat)
imparfait
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imparfait
Avoir (to have)
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