Breakdown of J'allais reporter le rendez-vous chez le vétérinaire, mais j'étais débordé.
je
I
être
to be
mais
but
chez
at the home of / at
aller
to go
le rendez-vous
the appointment
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
reporter
to postpone
débordé
swamped
le vétérinaire
the vet
Questions & Answers about J'allais reporter le rendez-vous chez le vétérinaire, mais j'étais débordé.
Why do we use the imperfect tense for aller here instead of the passé composé?
To express an unfulfilled past intention, French uses the imperfect form of aller plus an infinitive. Saying j'allais reporter translates to "I was going to postpone" and sets the scene for what you intended to do before something else got in the way.
Is reporter a false friend?
Yes! While it looks like the English word "report," reporter usually means "to postpone" or "to put off." If you need to say "to report" (like an incident or the news), you would use words like signaler or rapporter.
Why do we use chez in chez le vétérinaire?
Why is the imperfect used for j'étais débordé?
The imperfect tense is used to describe a state of being, an ongoing condition, or background context in the past. Here, j'étais débordé describes your ongoing state of being overwhelmed at that time, rather than a single completed action.
Learn J'allais reporter le rendez-vous chez le vétérinaire, mais j'étais débordé and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free