Étiez-vous (en. Were you)

[e.tje vu]

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Indicates a state or condition of the subject in the past.

At that time, you were very active in the club.

À l'époque, vous étiez très actifs dans le club.

Used to ask a question about a previous state.

Were you present at the meeting yesterday?

Étiez-vous présent à la réunion hier ?

Demonstrates the continuity of a state in the past.

You were always there to help me.

Vous étiez toujours là pour m'aider.

Form of the verb 'to be', deriving from Latin 'esse'.

How were you?

Request for information about a person's state or situation in the past.

Comment étiez-vous ?

If you were there

Hypothesis about a situation where the subject might have been present.

Si vous étiez là

When did you leave?

Inquiry about when a person left a place.

Quand étiez-vous parti ?

to be

State verb, meaning to exist or to be located.

être

state

Condition or situation of a person or thing.

état

imperfect

Past tense used to describe continuous or repeated actions.

imparfait

To be comfortable or relaxed.

When we hang out together, it’s like we were, you were, you know.

Quand on traîne ensemble, c'est comme si on était, vous étiez, quoi.

To allude to a glorious past.

Ah, back when we used to go out every night, you were in the spotlight!

Ah, à l'époque où on sortait tous les soirs, vous étiez sur le devant de la scène!