What is the imperfect?

When something is "perfect," that means it's "all done".

Latin per = through, throughout (perspective is "seeing through something")

Latin factum = a thing done (as opposed to a thing not done, which is why it's a fact)

The imperfect, by contrast, is something that is "not all done".

In the world of grammar, we refer to this perfect/imperfect question as "aspect" - the way you're looking at things.

In the "perfect aspect" a thing has happened, beginning, middle and end all rolled in together - done through from start to finish: I lived in Paris.

In the "imperfect aspect," things happen as part of an unfolding process. You aren't looking at the result, you're looking at the stuff in the middle: I was walking down the street.

In the Romance languages, the "imperfect" is used to talk about things that "were happening" and things that "would be done":

When I was getting dressed, I kept thinking about my meeting later than morning. - Imperfect because you're not looking at dressing and thinking as completed actions, but as things that were happening at a certain time.

Every Tuesday, we would go to the candy shop. - Imperfect because you're not looking at a trip to the candy shop as a completed action, but as a thing happening as part of life's routine.

In the Romance languages, the "imperfect" is usually used with thoughts and emotions because they aren't discrete actions, but sensations going through the brain without definite beginnings and endings. Background details, like the weather or traffic conditions, are also often in the imperfect because they refer to ongoing situations that provide context, not completed actions.

The imperfect often presents a challenge to Romance language learners, but if you're just looking for decent test scores, it doesn't hurt to start by putting everything that could be "was -ing" or "were -ing" (was talking, were eating, was thinking, etc) in the imperfect. Look at the short paragraph below and think about what I've said about the imperfect.

When I was a child, we would go to the candy shop every Tuesday. I always wanted Tootsie Rolls, but my brother preferred the suckers. As I was walking down the street last Tuesday, I noticed the old candy shop. Now it was a music store. I went in and bought a jazz album. I put it in the CD player last night, and as I listened, I thought of the old days. I turned the CD off. It was pretty good, but what I really wanted was a Tootsie Roll.

Now, keeping in mind what I've said about "was -ing" and "were -ing," background, thoughts and emotions, look at the paragraph again, but with a little rephrasing. I've italicized the parts that would be in the imperfect in French and, for the most part, in Spanish and Italian as well.

When I was a child, we would go to the candy shop every Tuesday. I would always want Tootsie Rolls, but my brother would prefer the suckers. As I was walking down the street last Tuesday, I noticed the old candy shop. Now it was a music store. I went in and bought a jazz album. I put it in the CD player last night, and as I was listening, I was thinking of the old days. I turned the CD off. It was pretty good, but what I really was wanting was a Tootsie Roll.

You now have a little text to show where the perfect and imperfect are used, along with a few guidelines. From here, learning depends mostly on being around the language enough - either through reading or talking to people - that you can get a feel for what is one part rules, one part sensibilities. This is, after all, aspect, a matter of how you look at things, and learning to see things through Spanish, French or Italian eyes requires getting comfortable not only with the language but with the culture as well.