mettais

Mettais is the imperfect tense form of the French verb mettre, used for the subject pronouns je and tu. The verb mettre means to put, place, or set. In the imperfect tense, the full conjugation of mettre is je mettais, tu mettais, il mettait, nous mettions, vous mettiez, ils mettaient. The form mettais is specifically shared by the first and second person singular in the past imperfect.

Usage and meaning

Mettais describes ongoing or repeated past actions, or scenes described in the past. It is often used to set the background in narration or to indicate a habitual past activity. It contrasts with the passé composé, which expresses a completed action. In sentences with quand, lorsque, or pendant, mettais commonly appears in the clause describing the ongoing past action, while the other clause may use a different past tense.

Examples

Je mettais les livres sur la table quand le téléphone a sonné. Tu mettais ta veste avant de sortir, car il faisait froid. These examples illustrate how mettais conveys ongoing or habitual past activity, with another clause signaling a completed action.

Etymology and relation

Mettre derives from the Latin mittere, meaning to send or to place. The imperfect form mettais reflects regular imperfect endings added to the verb’s stem. Mettais is a standard grammatical form in French and appears in both written and spoken language, though it is most common in storytelling and descriptive past narration.