résolvais

Résolvais is a grammatical form of the French verb résoudre, meaning to solve or to resolve. Specifically, résolvais is the imperfect (imparfait) form used for the first- and second-person singular: je résolvais and tu résolvais. The other imperfect forms are il résolvait, nous résolvions, vous résolviez, and ils résolvaient.

In use, the imperfect tense expresses actions or states in the past that were ongoing, repeated, or set as background. Thus, résolvais often appears in descriptions of past habits or ongoing problem-solving: for example, "Quand j'étais étudiant, je résolvais des problèmes mathématiques tous les jours." The form is identical in spelling for je and tu, so context and pronouns clarify the subject.

Etymology and meaning: résolvais derives from the verb résoudre, which in turn comes from a Latin root related to resolvere (to loosen again, then to settle or solve). The sense shifted from “to loosen” to the modern sense of settling a problem or finding a solution. The imperfect form shares the same root as related forms such as résolvez (present vous résolvez) and résolu (past participle).

Related terms include resolver, résolution, and résolution. In French, the imperfect résolvais contrasts with the passé composé forms of résoudre, which describe completed past actions. The form is primarily encountered in written and literary French, as well as in narratives describing past processes of solving or resolving.