il gardait

was keeping, was watching over

→ garder
gard to keep, to look after + ait he/she/it imperfect
verb · third singular · imperfect indicative Rare #23,229
was keeping, was watching over Imperfect tense (ongoing or habitual action in the past).
FR: Il gardait les enfants pendant que leurs parents travaillaient.
EN: He was looking after the children while their parents were working.
Conjugation of garder
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First gardais
Second gardais
Third gardait

Elle gardait tous les médicaments hors de portée des enfants.

She kept all medicines out of reach of children.

Qui gardait la cuisine?

Who was in charge of the kitchen?

— Infernal Affairs (2002)

Elle le gardait dans un coffre.

She kept it in a trunk.

— Paddington 2 (2017)

Mais on n'en gardait que la moitié.

But we only kept half of it.

— Carandiru (2003)

Elle lui gardait rancune à cause de cette affaire.

She held a grudge against him because of this affair.

Il gardait le barrage de Yichang.

He was guarding the Yichang dam.

— Still Life (2006)

Et si on gardait la thune?

What if we kept the money?

— La Cité de Dieu (2002)

Elle le gardait précieusement avant de devenir folle.

She treasured it before she went mad.

— Mademoiselle (2016)

Tom gardait le silence.

Tom remained silent.

Layla gardait un secret.

Layla was keeping a secret.

Il le croyait dangereux et le gardait dans son hangar.

He believed it to be dangerous and kept it in his hangar.

— Porco Rosso (1992)

L'acrobate gardait l'équilibre sur la corde.

The acrobat kept her balance on the tightrope.

Holkar ne les gardait pas ici.

Holkar didn't keep them here.

— Des étoiles sur la terre (2007)

Ça a bien compris qu'on la gardait à l'œil.

She got the message that we were keeping an eye on her.

— Bugonia (2025)

Tout ce qu'il faisait, il le gardait pour lui.

He kept everything he did to himself.

— Les Choristes (2004)