Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Introduction to the verb affiler
The English translation of the French verb “affiler” is “to sharpen.” The infinitive form of “affiler” is pronounced as ah-fee-leh.
The verb “affiler” comes from the Old French word “afilier,” which itself originated from the Latin word “affilare,” meaning “to sharpen.” In everyday French, “affiler” is most commonly used in the imparfait tense to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past.
Here are three simple examples of “affiler” in the imparfait tense, along with their English translations:
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Chaque matin, je l’affilais avant de commencer à cuisiner.
(Every morning, I would sharpen it before starting to cook.) -
Pendant l’été, mon grand-père affilait ses outils de jardinage.
(During the summer, my grandfather would sharpen his gardening tools.) -
Quand j’étais petit, ma mère affilait mes crayons pour l’école.
(When I was young, my mother would sharpen my pencils for school.)
Table of the Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of affiler
Pronoun | Conjugation | Short Example | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | affilais | J’affilais le couteau. | I was sharpening the knife. |
tu | affilais | Tu affilais tes crayons. | You were sharpening your pencils. |
il | affilait | Il affilait la lame. | He was sharpening the blade. |
elle | affilait | Elle affilait son couteau de cuisine. | She was sharpening her kitchen knife. |
on | affilait | On affilait nos outils. | We were sharpening our tools. |
nous | affilions | Nous affilions nos couteaux. | We were sharpening our knives. |
vous | affiliez | Vous affiliez vos ciseaux. | You were sharpening your scissors. |
ils | affilaient | Ils affilaient leurs rasoirs. | They were sharpening their razors. |
elles | affilaient | Elles affilaient leurs lames. | They were sharpening their blades. |
Other Conjugations for Affiler.
Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler (You’re reading it right now!)
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Conditionnel Passé II (Conditional Past II) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
L’impératif Passé (Imperative Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
L’infinitif Passé (Infinitive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Le Participe Présent (Present Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
Le Participe Passé (Past Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb affiler
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Affiler – About the French Imparfait Tense
NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see our article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.
Formation of the Imparfait Tense
For regular -er verbs:
For regular -ir verbs
For regular -re verbs
Common Everyday Usage Patterns
Description of Past Habits
Background Information
Mental and Emotional States
It’s employed to express emotions, thoughts, or physical sensations in the past. For example: “J’étais content quand il est arrivé.” (I was happy when he arrived.)
Ongoing Actions
Points to Note About the Imparfait Tense
Passé Composé vs. Imparfait
Conditional
Si Clauses
Narration
I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb affiler. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb imparfait conjugation!