Hier soir, je lisais un article intéressant dans ce journal.

I

Breakdown of Hier soir, je lisais un article intéressant dans ce journal.

• dans: in
• lire: to read
• intéressant: interesting

Questions & Answers about Hier soir, je lisais un article intéressant dans ce journal.

Why do we use the imparfait lisais rather than a passé composé form like j'ai lu?

The imparfait describes an ongoing or background action in the past. Here je lisais means “I was reading” (the action was in progress). If you say j’ai lu, it simply states the completed action (“I read” or “I have read”) without implying duration or context.

How is lisais formed?

1. Take the nous form of the verb in present: nous lisons.
2. Drop -ons → stem lis-.
3. Add imparfait endings: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.
   So for je: lis- + ais = lisais.

Why is Hier soir placed at the beginning of the sentence? Could it go elsewhere?

Starting with Hier soir sets the time frame right away, which is very common in French storytelling. You could also say
“Je lisais un article intéressant dans ce journal hier soir,”
but fronting the time expression often sounds more natural.

What’s the difference between Hier soir and Hier?