Raccourcissais

Raccourcissais is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb raccourcir, used for the first person singular (je) or the second person singular (tu) in the past. The meaning corresponds to “I was shortening” or “you were shortening,” or more broadly to a past habit of shortening.

In use, raccourcir means to make something shorter in length, duration, or extent. The imperfect form highlights an ongoing action in the past or a recurringPast action. It can refer to adjusting physical lengths, such as sleeves or hems, or to shortening passages, text, or measurements. The form is common in narratives or descriptions of past activities, especially in contexts like tailoring, editing, or editing texts.

Conjugation in the imperfect singular forms is: je raccourcissais, tu raccourcissais, il/elle raccourcissait, nous raccourcissions, vous raccourcissiez, ils/elles raccourcissaient. The specific form raccourcissais can function as either the je or the tu form in ordinary discourse, depending on the subject.

Examples: Je raccourcissais les manches de la chemise pour l’ajuster. Tu raccourcissais le texte afin de respecter la longueur demandée. These examples illustrate how the imperfect conveys a past process of shortening rather than a completed action.

See also: raccourcir, the infinitive verb from which this form is derived.