retrouvais

Retrouvais is a conjugated form of the French verb retrouver, belonging to the imperfect tense. The imperfect describes past actions that were ongoing, repeated, or not completed, or past states. Because retrouver is an -er verb, its imperfect endings are -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Consequently, retrouva is ambiguous in isolation, but retrouvais specifically corresponds to je retrouvais or tu retrouvais in context.

In usage, retrouver means to find again or to rediscover, and can also mean to meet someone again. Thus, the form retrouvais can appear in sentences about physically locating an object or about remeeting a person, or about gradually recalling information. Examples: Je retrouvais mes clés dans la poche du manteau. Tu retrouvais ton chemin après le détour. Elle retrouvait peu à peu sa voix après la maladie.

Etymology and related forms: the verb retrouver is built from re- plus trouver, with the sense of locating again or rediscovering. It is distinct from the noun retrouvaille, which designates a reunion or meeting after a period apart. The imperfect form retrouvais is commonly used in narrative or descriptive past contexts, and its subject is determined by the surrounding sentence.