FrenchConjugationImparfait

Vendre (to sell) · Imparfait

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated May 29, 2026

Vendre in the French imparfait is: je vendais, tu vendais, il/elle/on vendait, nous vendions, vous vendiez, ils/elles vendaient. The imparfait of vendre is regular: stem 'vend-' + imparfait endings. 'Je vendais des fruits au marché' = 'I used to sell fruit at the market'.

vendre conjugation in the Imparfait
To Sell	Vendre
I used to sell	je vendais
you used to sell	tu vendais
he/she used to sell	il/elle/on vendait
we used to sell	nous vendions
you used to sell	vous vendiez
they used to sell	ils/elles vendaient

Examples

Vendre (to sell) in context

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

Chaque été je vendais des glaces sur la plage.

Every summer I used to sell ice cream on the beach.

Tu vendais beaucoup à cette époque.

You used to sell a lot back then.

Il vendait des journaux dans les rues.

He used to sell newspapers in the streets.

Nous vendions nos produits au marché.

We used to sell our products at the market.

Vous vendiez vos créations en ligne avant?

Did you sell your creations online before?

Ils vendaient leurs récoltes au village.

They used to sell their harvests in the village.

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 vendre in the imparfait?

Vendre is regular in the imparfait: je vendais, tu vendais, il/elle/on vendait, nous vendions, vous vendiez, ils/elles vendaient. Stem 'vend-' from nous form 'vendons'.

When do I use 'je vendais' instead of 'j'ai vendu'?

Use 'je vendais' for habitual or repeated past selling: 'chaque jour, je vendais 100 unités' (every day, I used to sell 100 units). Use 'j'ai vendu' for a specific completed sale: 'hier, j'ai vendu 100 unités' (yesterday, I sold 100 units).

Do all regular -re verbs share this imparfait pattern?

Yes — attendre (attendais), répondre (répondais), perdre (perdais), entendre (entendais) all conjugate identically to vendre in the imparfait. Once you know vendre, you know ~50 verbs in the imparfait.