Question 1

How do we form the imparfait for jouait in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Following the rule from this lesson, we take the nous form of the present tense and drop the -ons. For jouer (to play), nous jouons gives us the stem jou-. Since the subject is on, we add the third-person singular imparfait ending -ait to make on jouait.

Question 2

Why is jouait in the imparfait tense, but ai cassé is in the passé composé?

Accepted Answer

This sentence is a perfect example of how these two past tenses work together! We use the imparfait (jouait) for the continuous background action (were playing). We use the passé composé (ai cassé) for the sudden, completed action (broke) that happens during the background action.

Question 3

Why does the translation say "We were playing" when the French uses on instead of nous?

Accepted Answer

In everyday spoken French, on is almost always used instead of nous to mean "we". Even though it means "we" in this context, on grammatically acts like "he" or "she". That is why it takes the third-person singular ending (-ait) rather than the nous ending (-ions).

Question 4

Could I say avec la balle instead of avec le ballon?

Accepted Answer

You could, but it changes the type of ball! In French, un ballon is usually a larger, inflatable ball, like a soccer ball or basketball. Une balle is a smaller ball, like a tennis ball or golf ball. If they are playing and break a window, a soccer ball (un ballon) is a very likely culprit!

On jouait avec le ballon, mais j'ai cassé une fenêtre.

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