répondais

Répondais is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb répondre (to answer) in the second person singular, and also the first person singular form carries the same spelling. In standard spelling, it appears as both “je répondais” and “tu répondais” in the imperfect tense. The form is identical for these two subjects; context or accompanying pronouns determine the subject.

Usage

The imperfect tense, including répondais, describes past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or backgrounded in relation to another past moment. It can set scenes in narrative, indicate repeated behavior, or express a past state of answering. It is not a distinct mood like the subjunctive; the form is simply a conjugation of répondre used for past narration.

Conjugation note

Répondais is regular for an -re verb in the imperfect. Other persons use similar endings: il répondait, nous répondions, vous répondiez, ils répondaient. The accent on the é of ré- reflects the verb’s stem and orthography.

Examples

Je répondais toujours rapidement lorsque quelqu’un me posait une question. Quand tu posais des questions, tu répondais souvent avec politesse. These examples illustrate how répondais marks past actions that were habitual or ongoing at the time referenced.

Etymology

The verb répondre derives from Latin respondere, meaning to answer, and entered French through Old French as répondre. The imperfect form répondais follows the standard French imperfect endings, preserving the historical pattern of the language’s past tenses.