Two pasts, two meanings: one reaction, one habit.
French makes you choose. J’ai aimé le film is a verdict on one finished thing — you saw it, you liked it, it is over. J’aimais le cinéma describes how things used to be, with no end point — a habit, a background, a younger you.
That is why j’ai aimé is what you say leaving a restaurant, and j’aimais is what you say about your childhood. Choose the wrong one and you are still understood, but you sound like you are describing the wrong kind of memory.
The past participle is aimé, and it sounds exactly like the infinitive aimer. Spoken French cannot tell them apart at all — context does the work.
💡 Focus at this level: Past — what you liked
1. Ask if it finished. One film, one meal, one evening — passé composé. No clear end — imperfect.
2. Listen for “used to” in your English. If it fits, French wants the imperfect.
3. Watch the nous form. « nous aimions » has an i that beginners drop. It is the same ending that comes back in the subjunctive later.
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