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ils parlaient

were speaking, talked

p a ʁ . l ɛ → parler
parl speak; talk + aient 3rd person plural imperfect
verb · third plural · imperfect indicative Uncommon #11,218
were speaking, talked Imperfect tense (used for ongoing/habitual actions in the past).
FR: Quand je suis arrivé, ils parlaient déjà.
EN: When I arrived, they were already talking.
Conjugation of parler
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First parlais parlions
Second parlais parliez
Third parlait parlaient

Les preuves parlaient en sa faveur.

The evidence spoke in his favor.

Ils parlaient en dialecte du Sud.

They spoke in a southern dialect.

Incroyable, la façon dont ils se parlaient.

The way they talked to each other was incredible.

— Le Loup de Wall Street (2013)

Elles parlaient de vous.

They were talking about you.

De quoi parlaient-ils ?

What were they talking about?

Peut-être qu'ils se parlaient en douce ?

Maybe they were talking to each other in secret?

— Faute d'amour (2017)

Des gens parlaient.

People were talking.

Entendre comment les gens parlaient de lui.

To hear how people talked about him.

— L'Agent secret (2025)

T'imagines s'ils parlaient en anglais ?

Can you imagine if they spoke English?

— Même la pluie (2011)

Vos doigts me parlaient, et je les écoutaient.

Your fingers spoke to me, and I listened to them.

— Black (2005)

Mais s'ils ne parlaient pas comme des crétins ?

But what if they didn’t talk like idiots?

— Le Loup de Wall Street (2013)

Je ne savais pas que Tom et Mary parlaient français.

I didn't know that Tom and Mary spoke French.

Tom et Marie étaient assis sur les marches du bâtiment et parlaient.

Tom and Marie were sitting on the steps of the building and talking.

Ils en parlaient à la télé.

They were talking about it on TV.

— Je suis toujours là (2024)

Ils parlaient ensemble comme de vieux amis.

They talked together like old friends.

Quelle langue parlaient-ils ?

What language did they speak?

Ils parlaient de minuit.

They were talking about midnight.

— Amarcord (1973)

Je n'ai pas compris grand-chose de ce dont elles parlaient.

I didn't understand much of what they were talking about.

Elles parlaient de ma mère ?

Were they talking about my mother?

— Volver (2006)

Ils lui parlaient d'une lumière.

They told him about a light.

T'as pas pu les entendre s'ils parlaient calmement.

You couldn't have heard them if they were speaking quietly.

— Anatomie d'une chute (2023)

Sami et Layla se parlaient rarement.

Sami and Layla rarely spoke to each other.

Tom et Marie parlaient-ils en français ?

Did Tom and Marie speak French?

Les filles parlaient dans son dos aussi !

The girls were talking behind his back too!

— Silent Voice (2016)

Au début, j'avais des difficultés à comprendre les gens qui parlaient trop vite.

At first, I had difficulty understanding people who spoke too fast.

Ils parlaient tous français.

They all spoke French.

C’est probablement la planque des démons dont parlaient Shinazugawa et Iguro.

This is probably the demon hideout that Shinazugawa and Iguro were talking about.

— Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba - Le film : La Forteresse infinie (2025)

Les gens en parlaient.

People were talking about it.

— Senna (2010)

Les Romains parlaient latin.

The Romans spoke Latin.

Mennad et Baya parlaient du lycée.

Mennad and Baya were talking about high school.

Ils parlaient de toi.

They were talking about you.

Elles parlaient de toi.

They were talking about you.

Les gens parlaient.

People were talking.

Marie se sentait seule parce que les autres élèves ne lui parlaient pas.

Marie felt lonely because the other students wouldn’t talk to her.

Les adultes parlaient entre eux.

The adults were talking among themselves.

Je ne comprenais pas parce qu'ils parlaient à voix basse.

I couldn't understand because they were speaking quietly.

Sounds similar to

parler p a ʁ . l e parlé p a ʁ . l e parfait p a ʁ . f ɛ parlez p a ʁ . l e parlons p a ʁ . l ɔ̃ parla p a ʁ . l a parlant p a ʁ . l ɑ̃ parlée p a ʁ . l e parlés p a ʁ . l e parquet p a ʁ . k ɛ