était
The English phrase "was" is translated into French as était.
était is used to describe a state, condition or background setting in the past.
Which one should you use?
Use était to describe continuous states, habitual conditions or background settings in the past. This differs from the form a été (passé composé).
How does it change in a sentence?
The form était changes depending on the subject being used in the imperfect tense. For the first and second person singular, use étais (j'étais, tu étais). For the third person singular, use était (il/elle était).
Did you know?
- While English speakers use 'was' to describe the weather, French speakers use the verb faire (to do/make). To say 'it was cold', a French person says il faisait froid, literally 'it was making cold'.
- If you are describing how someone 'was' feeling in the past, French often switches from the verb 'to be' to the verb 'to have'. To say 'I was hungry' or 'I was cold', you use j'avais faim or j'avais froid.
- In formal written French, the 'was' expressed by était can be replaced by a much rarer form called the passé simple, fut. This form is almost never spoken aloud but is found in classic literature and history books.
Examples in context
- Qui était là ?Who was there?This sentence shows how to ask who was present using était.Tatoeba #2730070 by MartinShadock, translation #2254895 by CK
- Qui était ici ?Who was here?This sentence shows how to ask who was in this specific location using était.Tatoeba #4579542 by sacredceltic, translation #2254890 by CK
- Le bébé était nu.The baby was naked.This sentence uses était to describe the state of a baby.Tatoeba #1314686 by sacredceltic, translation #657220 by CK
- Il était professeur.He was a teacher.
- Elle était fatiguée ce matin.She was tired this morning.
- Il fut un grand artiste.He was a great artist.
- C'était génial!It was great!
- Ça a été fatigant cette semaine.It was tiring this week.
- 7855 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are talking about a restaurant they visited.
- EmmaEst-ce que le restaurant était bon ?Was the restaurant good?
- GabrielOui, l'ambiance était excellente.Yes, the atmosphere was excellent.
- EmmaLe serveur était gentil avec toi ?Was the waiter kind to you?
- GabrielOui, il était très poli.Yes, he was very polite.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
