FrenchConjugationImparfait

Mettre (to put) · Imparfait

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated May 29, 2026

Mettre in the French imparfait is: je mettais, tu mettais, il/elle/on mettait, nous mettions, vous mettiez, ils/elles mettaient. The imparfait of mettre is regular: stem 'mett-' (from 'mettons') + imparfait endings. The double 't' returns in all imparfait forms.

mettre conjugation in the Imparfait
To Put	Mettre
I used to put	je mettais
you used to put	tu mettais
he/she used to put	il/elle/on mettait
we used to put	nous mettions
you used to put	vous mettiez
they used to put	ils/elles mettaient

Examples

Mettre (to put) in context

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

Chaque matin je mettais le café à chauffer.

Every morning I used to put the coffee on to heat.

Tu mettais toujours du sucre partout.

You always used to put sugar everywhere.

Il mettait sa montre au poignet droit.

He used to wear his watch on the right wrist.

Nous mettions la table tous les soirs.

We used to set the table every evening.

Vous mettiez la musique très fort.

You used to play the music very loud.

Ils mettaient beaucoup d'effort à leur jardin.

They used to put a lot of effort into their garden.

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 mettre in the imparfait?

Mettre is regular in the imparfait: je mettais, tu mettais, il/elle/on mettait, nous mettions, vous mettiez, ils/elles mettaient. Stem 'mett-' (double t) from nous form.

When do I use 'je mettais' instead of 'j'ai mis'?

Use 'je mettais' for habitual or ongoing past putting: 'chaque soir, je mettais mes clés sur la table' (every night, I used to put my keys on the table). Use 'j'ai mis' for a specific completed action: 'hier soir, j'ai mis mes clés sur la table' (last night, I put my keys on the table).

Does the imparfait keep the double t?

Yes — the imparfait stem comes from the nous form 'mettons' which already has the double t. All imparfait forms preserve it: mettais, mettais, mettait, mettions, mettiez, mettaient. Only the present singular forms drop one t.