When to use the imperfect tense

The imperfect tense is used to describe things that used to happen regularly in the past:
Quand j'tais petite, je jouais tous les jours (When I was little, I used to play everyday)
Avant, je faisais du sport tous les matins (I used to do sport every morning)
The imperfect tense is also used to talk about what something was like in the past:
Quand j'tais en Australie, il faisait beau tous les jours (When I was in Australia, the
weather was nice everyday)
Comment tait ton voyage? (What was your trip like?)
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais la maison? (What were you doing at home?)
Il y avait beaucoup de monde dans le restaurant (There were lots of people in the
restaurant)
The imperfect tense used with the perfect tense
The imperfect tense and the perfect tense are often used together.
The imperfect describes what was going on but is interrupted by the perfect:
Je mangeais quand tu as tlphon (I was eating when you called)
Il faisait beau quand tu es arrive (It was sunny when you arrived)