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FrenchConjugationImparfait

Voir (to see) · Imparfait

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Voir in the French imparfait is: je voyais, tu voyais, il/elle/on voyait, nous voyions, vous voyiez, ils/elles voyaient. The imparfait of voir is regular from 'voyons' → 'voy-': je voyais, tu voyais. Note: nous/vous forms are 'voyions / voyiez' with an extra 'i' (we'd say 'voi-iy-on' aloud) — common spelling-mistake spot.

voir conjugation in the Imparfait
To SeeVoir
I used to see
je voyais
you used to see
tu voyais
he/she used to see
il/elle/on voyait
we used to see
nous voyions
you used to see
vous voyiez
they used to see
ils/elles voyaient
Examples

Voir (to see) in context

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

De ma fenêtre, je voyais la mer.

From my window, I used to see the sea.

Tu voyais souvent tes cousins enfant?

Did you often see your cousins as a child?

Il voyait ses parents chaque dimanche.

He used to see his parents every Sunday.

Nous voyions des étoiles filantes en été.

We used to see shooting stars in summer.

Vous voyiez souvent ce voisin avant?

Did you often see this neighbor before?

Ils voyaient leur grand-mère tous les mercredis.

They used to see their grandmother every Wednesday.

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 voir in the imparfait?
Voir is regular in the imparfait: je voyais, tu voyais, il/elle/on voyait, nous voyions, vous voyiez, ils/elles voyaient. Stem 'voy-' from the nous form 'voyons'.
Why do 'voyions' and 'voyiez' have a double 'i'?
The stem 'voy-' ends in 'y', and the imparfait endings for nous/vous start with 'i' (-ions, -iez). When combined, the result is 'voy-ions' = 'voyions' with an extra 'i' that's not present in other verbs. The same happens to every verb whose stem ends in -y (croire → croyions, asseoir → asseyions, payer → payions). It's a common spelling-error spot for native French speakers too.
When do I use 'je voyais' instead of 'j'ai vu'?
Use 'je voyais' for habitual or ongoing past sight: 'de jeune, je voyais mes grands-parents tous les dimanches' (when young, I used to see my grandparents every Sunday). Use 'j'ai vu' for a specific completed sighting: 'le dimanche, j'ai vu mes grands-parents' (on Sunday, I saw my grandparents).
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More tenses of Voir (To See)

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Voir (to see) · Passé Composé
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Voir (to see) · Subjonctif

More verbs in imparfait

All tenses
Voir (to see)
imparfait
Être (to be)
imparfait
Avoir (to have)
imparfait
Aller (to go)
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