Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Introduction to the verb chaîner
The English translation of the French verb “chaîner” is “to chain” or “to link.” The infinitive form “chaîner” is pronounced as “sheh-nay.”
The verb “chaîner” comes from the French word “chaîne,” meaning “chain.” It belongs to the first group of regular -er verbs, and its language origin can be traced back to Latin (catēna). In everyday French, “chaîner” is commonly used in the imparfait tense to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past.
Here are three simple examples of its usage in the imparfait tense:
-
Chaque soir, il chaînait les vélos devant sa maison.
(Every evening, he would chain the bikes in front of his house.) -
Pendant les vacances, nous chaînions les épisodes d’une série télévisée.
(During the holidays, we would watch episodes of a TV series back-to-back.) -
Quand j’étais enfant, je chaînais mes jouets ensemble pour créer des constructions.
(When I was a child, I used to link my toys together to create structures.)
Note: The above translations are in the simple past tense as the English language does not have an exact equivalent for the French imparfait tense.
Table of the Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of chaîner
Pronoun | Conjugation | Short Example | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
je | chaînais | Je chaînais mes idées. | I was linking my ideas. |
tu | chaînais | Tu chaînais tes pensées. | You were chaining your thoughts. |
il | chaînait | Il chaînait les mots. | He was chaining the words. |
elle | chaînait | Elle chaînait les phrases. | She was chaining the sentences. |
on | chaînait | On chaînait les activités. | We were chaining the activities. |
nous | chaînions | Nous chaînions les événements. | We were chaining the events. |
vous | chaîniez | Vous chaîniez les actions. | You were chaining the actions. |
ils | chaînaient | Ils chaînaient les concepts. | They were chaining the concepts. |
elles | chaînaient | Elles chaînaient les idées. | They were chaining the ideas. |
Other Conjugations for Chaîner.
Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner (You’re reading it right now!)
Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Conditionnel Passé II (Conditional Past II) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
L’impératif Passé (Imperative Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
L’infinitif Passé (Infinitive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Le Participe Présent (Present Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
Le Participe Passé (Past Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb chaîner
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Chaîner – 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 chaîner. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb imparfait conjugation!