régnais

Régnais is the imperfect (or imperfect indicative) form of the French verb régner, meaning to reign or to rule. In the imperfect, the standard conjugation for this verb is je régnais, tu régnais, il régnait, nous régnions, vous régniez, ils régnaient. The isolated form régnais appears as the first-person singular in the contraction “je régnais” and as the second-person singular in “tu régnais.” The form thus carries no fixed subject by itself and must be linked to a pronoun or context.

Usage and nuances

The imperfect tense describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past, or a background state. When applied to régner, it often signals a period during which someone or some entity was in power, without implying a definite end point. It is commonly found in historical narration, literary prose, and descriptive passages where the emphasis is on the duration or character of rule rather than its specific moment of beginning or end. In contrast, passé composé or passé simple would typically express completed reigns or events within a reign.

Etymology and related forms

Régner derives from Latin regnare, from regnum meaning kingdom. Related forms include the noun règne (reign) and the participle régnant (reigning). The verb is a regular -er verb, so its imperfect and other tenses follow standard patterns for this class.

Example

Je régnais sur un royaume prospère au cours du XVIIe siècle. Tu régnais avec une autorité contestée mais dévouée.

Note

Régnais is primarily a written, literary, or historical form. In spoken French, speakers commonly use present or passé composé by selecting appropriate subjects and auxiliary verbs.