faiblissais

Faiblissais is the first-person singular imperfect tense form of the French verb faiblir, meaning to weaken or become weaker. It is used to describe a continuing or repeated action in the past, such as a gradual loss of strength, energy, or resolve.

Etymology and meaning: The verb faiblir comes from Old French and is closely related to the adjective faible, meaning weak. Both derive from a common Romance root that expresses weakness, and the imperfect form faiblissais preserves a shared pattern with other -ir verbs that insert -iss- in the stem during certain tenses. The connection to faible helps explain the semantic link between the two words in ordinary usage.

Conjugation pattern: In the imperfect, the stem is faibliss- and the endings are -ais, -ais, -ait, -issions, -issiez, -issaient. Thus the full paradigm is je faiblissais, tu faiblissais, il/elle faiblissait, nous faiblissions, vous faiblissiez, ils/elles faiblissaient. The spelling reveals the characteristic -iss- form of many -ir verbs in this tense.

Usage examples: Je faiblissais après l’effort, mais je tenais bon. Sa voix faiblissait au fur et à mesure que la fatigue gagnait. These examples illustrate how the form conveys ongoing past states.

Notes: The form is standard in contemporary French and commonly taught in grammar resources. It is distinct from the present tense forms like je faiblis and other tenses that use different stems. See also faiblir, faible and the broader discussion of the imparfait in French verb conjugation.