Question 1

How do we form était if être doesn't follow the normal imparfait rule?

Accepted Answer

To form the imparfait, you usually take the present tense nous form of a verb and drop the -ons. However, être is the only verb that doesn't end in -ons with nous (nous sommes). Because of this, it uses a special, irregular stem: ét-. To say "the city was," we add the regular third-person singular ending -ait to that stem, giving us était.

Question 2

Why do we use the imparfait (était) here instead of the passé composé (a été)?

Accepted Answer

We use the imparfait because we are describing a continuous state in the past—what the city used to be like. The phrase À l'époque (at the time) is a great hint, as it sets the background scene rather than pointing to a single, sudden, completed action.

Question 3

Does À l'époque literally mean "at the epoch"?

Accepted Answer

Literally, yes! But in everyday French, it is the most common way to say "at the time," "in those days," or "back in the day." It is a classic trigger phrase for using the imparfait tense.

Question 4

How does the phrase plus petite translate to "smaller"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we add "-er" to short words to compare them (small becomes smaller). French doesn't use word endings for this. Instead, you put plus (more) before the adjective, literally saying "more small." Also, notice the -e on petite: the adjective must agree with the feminine noun la ville.

À l'époque, la ville était plus petite.

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