Voyait

Voyait is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the French verb voir, meaning to see. It is used to describe past actions or states that were ongoing, habitual, or background in relation to another past event.

Etymology and morphology: The form derives from voir, which comes from Latin videre. In the imperfect tense, French verbs of this class take the endings -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. For voir, the relevant forms include je voyais, tu voyais, il voyait, nous voyions, vous voyiez, ils voyaient. Thus voyait consists of the stem voy- with the -ait ending.

Usage: Voyait signals an ongoing past perception or a repeated past observation, rather than a single completed event. It is often used to set scene or describe what someone was seeing over a period of time. In narrative writing, it contrasts with passé composé forms such as il a vu, which indicate a completed sight or a specific past moment.

Examples: Il voyait la lumière à travers les arbres, meaning “He could see the light through the trees” or “He was seeing the light.” Elle voyait souvent les mêmes visages sur la place, meaning “She often saw the same faces in the square.” Quand il regardait, il voyait de nouvelles formes, indicating “When he looked, he was seeing new shapes.” The exact nuance depends on context and accompanying verbs.

See also: See voir for the base verb, and see the passé composé for a completed past action.