Regardait

Regardait is the third-person singular imperfect tense form of the French verb regarder, meaning to look or to watch. In use, il regardait means “he was looking” and elle regardait means “she was looking.” The form is commonly employed to describe ongoing actions in the past, past habits, or to set a scene in narrative prose.

Formation and forms: Regardait is produced from the infinitive regarder, with the imperfect endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient added to the stem regard-. Specifically, for the third-person singular, the ending -ait is attached to the stem regard-, yielding regardait. Other imperfect forms include regardais (tu regardais), regardions (nous regardions), regardiez (vous regardiez), and regardaient (ils/elles regardaient).

Usage notes: The imperfect tense, including regardait, describes actions without a defined endpoint in the past, background descriptions, or repeated past actions. It often appears with time cues such as autrefois, autrefois, autrefois, ou encore lorsque to set a scene. It is distinct from the passé composé, which conveys a completed action.

Examples: Il regardait par la fenêtre quand elle est arrivée. She was looking at the stars last night. Elle regardait souvent les mêmes films au dimanche soir.

Related terms: Regardait is related to the noun regard, meaning “gaze” or “look,” derived from the same root verb regarder. The form should not be confused with the passé simple, where the third-person singular form is regarded as regarda.