bâtissait

Bâtissait is the imperfect tense of the French verb bâtir, meaning to build or to construct. It is used to describe ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past, emphasizing the process rather than completion.

Morphology and forms: The imperfect forms of bâtir are je bâtissais, tu bâtissais, il bâtissait, nous bâtissions, vous bâtissiez, ils bâtissaient. The form bâtissait specifically corresponds to third person singular subjects (il, elle, on). The infinitive is bâtir, which carries a circumflex on the a. The past participle is bâti.

Usage and nuance: Bâtir denotes physical construction or the act of erecting structures. It can also be used figuratively to mean establishing institutions, systems, or standards, though édifier or fonder are often preferred for non-literal senses. In narrative past, bâtissait conveys a sense of uninterrupted or gradual building activity over time. Examples include: Il bâtissait une maison au bord du lac (He was building a house by the lake). Dans ce quartier, la communauté bâtissait peu à peu des ponts vers l’avenir (In this neighborhood, the community was gradually building bridges to the future).

Etymology and related forms: The verb derives from Old French bâtir, with the noun bâti meaning what has been built, a structure. The imperfect form bâtissait shares its root with other conjugations of bâtir, preserving the meaning related to construction and creation.