This is the 12295th most frequent French word.
écrivait
"Écrivait" means "was writing" or "wrote" (imperfect tense of "écrire").
In this sentence, 'écrivait' is the imperfect tense form of the verb 'écrire', used to describe an ongoing action or habitual action in the past.
Il écrivait une lettre à son amie hier soir.
He was writing a letter to his friend last night.
Here, 'écrivait' is again in the imperfect tense, indicating that the action of writing was happening simultaneously with another past action.
Pendant que je lisais, elle écrivait dans son journal.
While I was reading, she was writing in her journal.
In this example, 'écrivait' reflects a habitual action in the past, used to describe repeated or customary occurrences.