FrenchConjugationImparfait

Parler (to speak) · Imparfait

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated May 29, 2026

Parler in the French imparfait is: je parlais, tu parlais, il/elle/on parlait, nous parlions, vous parliez, ils/elles parlaient. The imparfait of parler is regular: stem 'parl-' (from 'parlons') + imparfait endings. 'Je parlais français à la maison' = 'I used to speak French at home'.

parler conjugation in the Imparfait
To Speak	Parler
I used to speak	je parlais
you used to speak	tu parlais
he/she used to speak	il/elle/on parlait
we used to speak	nous parlions
you used to speak	vous parliez
they used to speak	ils/elles parlaient

Examples

Parler (to speak) in context

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

Petit, je parlais déjà deux langues.

As a child, I already spoke two languages.

Tu parlais dans ton sommeil.

You used to talk in your sleep.

Mon père parlait très bien anglais.

My father used to speak English very well.

Nous parlions chaque soir au téléphone.

We used to talk every evening on the phone.

Vous parliez souvent de ce sujet?

Did you often talk about this topic?

Ils parlaient à voix basse pour ne pas réveiller le bébé.

They were speaking softly so as not to wake the baby.

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 parler in the imparfait?

Parler is regular in the imparfait: je parlais, tu parlais, il/elle/on parlait, nous parlions, vous parliez, ils/elles parlaient. Stem 'parl-' from nous form 'parlons'. The accent on '-ais/-ait' is required.

When do I use 'je parlais' instead of 'j'ai parlé'?

Use 'je parlais' for habitual or ongoing past speech: 'à dix ans, je parlais déjà deux langues' (at ten, I already spoke two languages). Use 'j'ai parlé' for a specific completed conversation: 'hier, j'ai parlé avec Marie' (yesterday, I spoke with Marie).

Is parler's imparfait ever irregular?

No — parler is fully regular in the imparfait. Only three French verbs have irregular imparfaits: être (j'étais), and arguably aller/avoir (but those derive normally from nous forms). Every regular -er verb conjugates exactly like parler in the imparfait.