cessait de

kept

→ cesser
phrase Rare #44,743
kept Used with an infinitive to mean that someone or something kept doing something; with ne, it often means “never stopped.”
FR: Il cessait de parler quand j'entrais.
EN: He would stop talking when I came in.

Et s’il cessait de t’aimer un jour ?

What if he stopped loving you one day?

— Soul Mate (2016)

Parfois, il cessait de pleuvoir assez pour que les étoiles sortent.

Sometimes, the rain would let up enough for the stars to come out.

— Forrest Gump (1994)

Que se passerait-il si la Terre cessait de tourner sur son axe ?

What would happen if the Earth stopped rotating on its axis?

On ne cessait de m'importuner.

They kept pestering me.

— Gramps Is in the Resistance (1983)

Le téléphone ne cessait de sonner.

The phone kept ringing.

La vie dans notre petit pays ne cessait de s'accélérer.

Life in our little country kept getting faster and faster.

— Good Bye Lenin! (2003)