bâtissaient

Bâtissaient is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the French verb bâtir, meaning to build. It is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, often to set a scene or provide background in narrative prose. For example: “Ils bâtissaient des maisons en pierre sur la colline.” translates to “They were building stone houses on the hill.”

Grammatical details: bâtir is an -ir verb. In the imperfect tense, it follows the regular endings for this tense: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. The stem for the imperfect is bâtiss-, so the forms are je bâtissais, tu bâtissais, il bâtissait, nous bâtissions, vous bâtissiez, ils bâtissaient. The spelling retains the circumflex on the a in bâ- as in the present tense.

Usage notes: The imperfect “bâtissaient” contrasts with the passé composé form “ont bâti” or the passé simple “bâtirent,” which express completed actions. The imperfect can also convey habitual past actions or background processes within longer narratives. In modern usage, bâtir appears in architectural, historical, and figurative contexts, where bâtissaient describes ongoing activity or development in the past.

Related forms: other imperfect forms include je bâtissais, tu bâtissais, il bâtissait, nous bâtissions, vous bâtissiez. The past participle is bâti, used with être or avoir in compound tenses.