J'étais (en. I was)

/ʒetɛ/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Used to talk about a completed action in the past.

I was at the meeting yesterday.

J'étais à la réunion hier.

Indicates a past state or situation.

When I was a child, I dreamed of traveling.

Quand j'étais enfant, je rêvais de voyager.

Expresses a condition or hypothesis in the past.

If I were rich, I would travel the world.

Si j'étais riche, je ferais le tour du monde.

Contraction of 'I' and 'was', form of the verb 'to be'.

I was there

This means that I am or that I was present at a location.

j'étais là

What a fool I was!

Expresses regret for an action considered foolish in the past.

qu'est-ce que j'étais bête !

I was about to

Indicates that an action was about to occur but was interrupted.

j'étais sur le point de

to be

Fundamental verb that denotes the state of existence.

être

was

Third person singular of the imperfect tense of the verb 'to be'.

était

were

Second person singular of the imperfect tense of the verb 'to be'.

étais

I was around.

When I arrived, I was already around.

Quand je suis arrivé, j'étais déjà dans le coin.

I was winning.

In this game, I was winning until the last minute.

À ce jeu, j'étais-gagnant jusqu'à la dernière minute.