rencontrâmes

Rencontrâmes is a French verb conjugation. It is the first-person plural (nous) imperfect indicative form of the verb rencontrer. The verb rencontrer means to meet, to encounter, or to come across. The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing actions, habitual actions, or descriptions in the past. Therefore, "nous rencontrâmes" translates to "we met," "we were meeting," or "we used to meet," depending on the context of the sentence.

The imperfect tense in French is often used for narrative purposes, to set a scene, or to describe past states. For example, "Nous rencontrâmes nos amis à la gare" means "We met our friends at the station." In this case, it indicates a completed action of meeting. Alternatively, "Quand j'étais enfant, nous rencontrâmes souvent notre grand-mère" translates to "When I was a child, we often used to meet our grandmother," highlighting a habitual action in the past. The imperfect tense distinguishes itself from the passé simple, another past tense in French, which is typically used for completed actions in formal or literary contexts. While the passé simple form for "nous" would be "nous rencontrâmes" as well, the imperfect is more common in everyday speech and general writing.