Spanish Grammar Bank
SPANISH IMPERCT PAST
The Pretérito Imperfecto (Imperfect Past) is used to describe past actions that were ongoing, habitual or that do not imply a completed action.
Let’s see how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs with the imperfect past tense.
IMPERFECT PAST
The Pretérito Imperfecto (Imperfect Past) is a tense that focuses on the internal development of the event without referring to the beginning or end of the action (in contrast to the Pretérito Perfecto Simple), like in the example:
Pretérito Imperfecto: El chico bajaba las escaleras. (The boy was going down the stairs.)
Pretérito Perfecto Simple: El chico bajó las escaleras. (The boy went down the stairs).
The example of the Pretérito Imperfecto above does not imply that the boy had finished his descent but rather that the process was ongoing.
The Pretérito Imperfecto can also be used to provide background information or details about a past time and age, often being used to “set the scene” in a narrative by describing what was happening or what was true at a given point in the past, like in the example:
Cuando sonó el timbre de la puerta, el chico bajaba las escaleras.
When the door bell rang, the boy was going down the stairsIMPERFECT PAST FOR REGULAR VERBS
The conjugation pattern for regular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfecto Simple tense is as follows:
WITH -AR VERBS (using cocinar, to cook)
| Yo | cocinaba | I was cooking. |
| Tú | cocinabas | You were cooking. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | cocinaba | He/She was / You (formal, singular) were cooking. |
| Nosotros/as | cocinábamos | We were cooking. |
| Vosotros/as | cocinabais | You (all) were cooking. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | cocinaban | They/You (formal, plural) were cooking. |
WITH -ER VERBS (using correr, to run)
| Yo | corría | I was running. |
| Tú | corrías | You were running. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | corría | He/She was / You (formal, singular) were running. |
| Nosotros/as | corríamos | We were running. |
| Vosotros/as | corríais | You (all) were running. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | corrían | They/You (formal, plural) were running. |
WITH -IR VERBS (using recibir, to receive)
| Yo | recibía | I was receiving. |
| Tú | recibías | You were receiving. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | recibía | He/She was / You (formal, singular) were receiving. |
| Nosotros/as | recibíamos | We were receiving. |
| Vosotros/as | recibíais | You (all) were receiving. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | recibían | They/You (formal, plural) were receiving. |
IMPERFECT PAST FOR IRREGULAR VERBS
There are fewer irregular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfecto compared to the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense.
The particular conjugations in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense must be memorized as they do not follow the regular conjugation patterns of -ar, -er, -ir verbs.
The most commonly used irregular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfecto are ser (to be), ir (to go) and ver (to see).
WITH IRREGULAR VERB SER (to be)
| Yo | era | I was. |
| Tú | eras | You were. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | era | He/She was You (formal, singular) were. |
| Nosotros/as | éramos | We were. |
| Vosotros/as | erais | You (all) were. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | eran | They/You (formal, plural) were. |
WITH IRREGULAR VERB IR (to go)
| Yo | iba | I was going. |
| Tú | ibas | You were going. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | iba | He/She was You (formal, singular) were going. |
| Nosotros/as | íbamos | We were going. |
| Vosotros/as | ibais | You (all) were going. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | iban | They/You (formal, plural) were going. |
WITH IRREGULAR VERB VER (to see)
| Yo | veía | I used to see. |
| Tú | veías | You was seeing. |
| Él/Ella/Usted | veía | He/She was You (formal, singular) were seeing. |
| Nosotros/as | veíamos | We were seeing. |
| Vosotros/as | veíais | You (all) were seeing. |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | veían | They/You (formal, plural) were seeing. |
EXAMPLES
| Yo era buena actriz. | I was a good actress. |
| Tú eras su vecino. | You were his neighbor. |
| Él iba al mismo colegio que yo. | He went to the same school as I. |
| Nosotras íbamos a Francia cada verano. | We used to go to France every summer. |
| Vosotros veíais la tele por las noches. | You (all) used to watch TV at night. |
| Ellas veían a sus primos cada fin de semana. | They used to see their cousins every weekend. |
Learn Spanish with FlexiClasses
Book online classes with the best teachers in the industry.
FAQs
When to use imperfect instead of simple past?
The imperfect tense is used for ongoing or repeated actions in the past, while the preterite is used for completed actions that happened at a specific moment.
What are the regular endings for the imperfect tense?
For -ar verbs: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban.
For -er and -ir verbs: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
Any irregular verbs in the imperfect tense?
Yes, there are only three irregular verbs:
ser → era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
ir → iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
ver → veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían
How do I know if a past action requires the imperfect or another tense?
If the action was habitual, ongoing, or had no clear beginning or end, use the imperfect. If it was a single, completed event, use the preterite.
Where to find more lessons like this?
You can find more Spanish lessons in our Spanish Grammar Bank, where we regularly upload lessons from levels A1 to B2.
Do you provide Spanish lessons?
Yes, we do!
You can learn Spanish online on our teaching platform, Flexi Classes.
Study in group classes, individual classes or both, the curriculum includes all levels, and classes are available 24/7.
Start with a 7 days free trial today!