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vivait

Vivait is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the French verb vivre, meaning "to live." In English, it corresponds to "he lived" or "he was living," depending on the context. The imperfect tense in French is used to describe ongoing or habitual past actions and states, often serving as background information or setting the scene, in contrast to the passé composé which expresses completed actions.

Vivait appears in phrases such as "Quand il était enfant, il vivait à Lyon" or "Elle vivait

In literary or narrative French, the imperfect is common for describing past scenes, states, or repeated actions,

de
petites
joies
simples."
It
is
formed
by
taking
the
stem
of
the
present
infinitive
"vivre"
(viv-)
and
adding
the
imperfect
ending
-ait
for
the
third
person
singular:
je
vivais;
tu
vivais;
il/elle
vivait;
nous
vivions;
vous
viviez;
ils
vivaient.
The
form
"vivait"
is
specifically
used
with
il,
elle,
or
on
in
the
imperfect.
and
"vivait"
is
frequently
encountered
in
such
contexts.
The
word
derives
from
Latin
vivere,
and
its
spelling
reflects
the
characteristic
French
imperfect
ending.
Capitalization
does
not
apply
to
the
verb
form
unless
it
appears
as
a
proper
noun
or
at
the
start
of
a
sentence.
See
also:
vivre;
French
grammar;
imperfect
tense.