Consultais

Consultais is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb consulter. It represents the stem consult- plus the imperfect endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. The form consultais occurs for the first person singular (je consultais) and the second person singular (tu consultais). The subject is distinguished by context, since the spelling is identical for both je and tu in this tense.

In usage, consultais expresses a past action that was ongoing, habitual, or descriptive in nature. It is commonly used to describe actions in the background of a narrative or to indicate repeated behavior in the past. For example: “Quand j’étais étudiant, je consultais souvent les archives.” or “Tu consultais les plans avant de commencer.” This contrasts with the passé composé, which marks a completed past action.

Etymology traces consultais to the verb consulter, which in turn derives from Latin words related to deliberate consideration or seeking information. The sense encompasses checking sources, seeking advice, or examining documents or records, such as consult…ing a database or consulting a physician.

Pronunciation is typically indicated as [kɔ̃.sy.l te] in careful phonetic transcription, with the nasal vowel in the first syllable and ties between syllables smooth in ordinary speech. While consultais appears mainly in written and formal contexts, it remains a standard form in French verb conjugation and is taught as part of mastering the imperfect tense.