offrait

Offrait is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb offrir, meaning to offer or to present. It denotes a past action that was ongoing, repeated, or described in a narrative context. In this sense, it can express a habitual offering or a moment within a longer past event rather than a single completed act.

Origin and inflection: offrir comes from Old French offrir, itself from Latin offerre. In the imperfect, the stem is offr- and the standard imperfect endings are added: j'offrais, tu offrais, il offrait, nous offrions, vous offr i ez, ils offraient. The related past participle is offert, used to form compound tenses such as j'ai offert.

Usage notes: Offrait is used to describe past offers, acts of giving, or offers that were in progress. It contrasts with the present offre or with the past participle offert in perfect tenses. In literary or narrative contexts, it helps convey mood, politeness, or conditional nuance when paired with verbs like vouloir or pouvoir.

Examples: Il offrait des fleurs à chaque visite. Quand il offrait son aide, elle acceptait avec gratitude. Elle se souvient qu'il offrait toujours des conseils avant de prendre une décision. These sentences illustrate the imperfect’s sense of ongoing or repeated past actions.