The Imperfect

Spanish Grammar 3

Course 3 · Chapter 5 · The Imperfect

🎞️ The Imperfect — El pretérito imperfecto

If the preterite is a snapshot (it happened), the imperfect is a film running: what used to happen, what things were like, what was going on. It has no clear beginning or end. It is also the easiest past tense to form, with only three irregular verbs. This chapter gives the forms and the main uses; Spanish Grammar 3 6 sets the imperfect against the preterite.

The rule in one box -ar: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban · -er / -ir: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. Irregular: ser (era), ir (iba), ver (veía). No stem changes and no spelling changes. Use it for habits, descriptions, background, age, time and actions in progress in the past.

The forms

	-ar: hablar	-er: comer	-ir: vivir
yo	hablaba	comía	vivía
tú	hablabas	comías	vivías
él / ella / usted	hablaba	comía	vivía
nosotros	hablábamos	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros	hablabais	comíais	vivíais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hablaban	comían	vivían

Watch out: the yo and él forms are the same In every imperfect, yo and él / ella / usted have the same form (hablaba, comía), so use a pronoun or a name when it is not clear who is meant: Yo comía. / Ella comía. The -er / -ir endings all carry an accent on the í, and the -ar nosotros form carries one on the á (hablábamos).

The three irregular verbs

	ser	ir	ver
yo	era	iba	veía
tú	eras	ibas	veías
él / ella / usted	era	iba	veía
nosotros	éramos	íbamos	veíamos
vosotros	erais	ibais	veíais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	eran	iban	veían

Every other verb is regular in the imperfect, including those that change in the present or the preterite: pensaba, podía, pedía, dormía, jugaba, buscaba, tenía, hacía, decía, estaba. Haber gives había (there was, there were).

Uses of the imperfect

Use	Example	English
habits, repeated actions	Cada verano íbamos a la playa. · De niño, jugaba al fútbol todos los días.	Every summer we used to go to the beach. As a child I played football every day.
description of people and things in the past	Mi abuela era alta y tenía el pelo blanco. · La casa era grande.	My grandmother was tall and had white hair. The house was big.
background, scene-setting	Llovía y hacía frío. · Había mucha gente en la calle.	It was raining and cold. There were lots of people in the street.
age	Tenía diez años.	I was ten.
time of day	Eran las tres. · Era la una.	It was three o'clock. It was one o'clock.
feelings, thoughts, wishes	Quería ir. · Pensaba que era fácil. · Sabía la respuesta.	I wanted to go. I thought it was easy. I knew the answer.
reported statements	Dijo que venía mañana.	He said he was coming tomorrow.

Estaba + gerund and iba a + infinitive

Phrase	Meaning	Example
estaba + gerund	was doing (in progress)	Estaba trabajando cuando llamaste. · ¿Qué estabas haciendo?
iba a + infinitive	was going to (a plan, an intention)	Iba a llamarte, pero no tuve tiempo.
solía + infinitive	used to	Solía levantarme a las seis.
seguía + gerund	was still doing	Seguía lloviendo.

Estaba + gerund stresses that the action was in progress; the simple imperfect says the same with less emphasis (Trabajaba cuando llamaste is also correct).

Time words that call for the imperfect

siempre · todos los días · cada verano · de niño / de pequeño · a menudo · normalmente · generalmente · a veces · mientras · en aquella época · antes

Watch out: "used to" and "would" in English English "I used to go" and "I would go every summer" (habit) are both the Spanish imperfect: Íbamos cada verano. English "would" for the conditional (I would go if…) is different (Spanish Grammar 3 10). And English "was ... -ing" is often just the imperfect: Leía un libro. = I was reading a book.

Latin America note The imperfect is formed the same everywhere. Vos uses the tú forms (vos eras, tenías, hablabas), and vosotros forms (hablabais) are replaced by ustedes hablaban in Latin America. The uses are also the same; the main regional difference between past tenses concerns the preterite and the present perfect (Spanish Grammar 3 7).

🗣️ In Use — En situación

Decide which uses of the imperfect appear in each exchange.

① Childhood

A:¿Cómo era tu vida de niño? ¿Dónde vivías?What was your life like as a child? Where did you live?

B:Vivíamos en un pueblo pequeño. Íbamos a la playa en verano y comíamos siempre en casa de mi abuela.We lived in a small village. We went to the beach in summer and always ate at my grandmother's.

② The scene

A:¿Qué tiempo hacía aquel día? ¿Qué hora era?What was the weather like that day? What time was it?

B:Llovía y hacía mucho frío. Eran las ocho y había poca gente en la calle.It was raining and very cold. It was eight o'clock and there were few people in the street.

③ A change of plan

A:¿Qué estabas haciendo? Te llamé tres veces.What were you doing? I called you three times.

B:Estaba duchándome. Iba a llamarte, pero pensaba que estabas trabajando.I was in the shower. I was going to call you, but I thought you were working.

📋 Quick Reference — Resumen

Topic	Summary
-ar	-aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban
-er, -ir	-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían
irregular	ser: era · ir: iba · ver: veía; había from haber
uses	habit, description, background, age, time, feelings, reported speech
phrases	estaba + gerund, iba a + infinitive, solía + infinitive
time words	siempre, de niño, normalmente, mientras, a menudo, antes
no change	no stem or spelling changes in any other verb

✏️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios

Say the answer first, then click to check.

1. Conjugate trabajar and vivir in the imperfect.

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trabajaba · trabajabas · trabajaba · trabajábamos · trabajabais · trabajaban. vivía · vivías · vivía · vivíamos · vivíais · vivían.

2. Conjugate ser, ir and ver in the imperfect.

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era · eras · era · éramos · erais · eran. iba · ibas · iba · íbamos · ibais · iban. veía · veías · veía · veíamos · veíais · veían.

3. Fill in the imperfect: "De niño, yo (jugar) al fútbol." · "Mis padres (vivir) en Valencia." · "Nosotros (ir) a la playa."

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jugaba · vivían · íbamos.

4. Say in Spanish: "It was raining and it was cold." · "It was three o'clock." · "I was ten."

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Llovía y hacía frío. · Eran las tres. · Tenía diez años.

5. Say in Spanish: "My grandmother was tall and had white hair."

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Mi abuela era alta y tenía el pelo blanco.

6. Say in Spanish: "I was working when you called." (two ways)

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Estaba trabajando cuando llamaste. / Trabajaba cuando llamaste.

7. Say in Spanish: "I was going to call you, but I had no time."

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Iba a llamarte, pero no tenía tiempo.

8. Do pensar, poder and pedir change their stem in the imperfect? Give the yo forms.

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No: pensaba, podía, pedía.

9. Say in Spanish: "We used to eat at my grandmother's every Sunday."

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Comíamos en casa de mi abuela todos los domingos. / Solíamos comer en casa de mi abuela…

10. Correct the mistakes: Él hablabo. · Nosotros ibabamos. · Eran la una. · Veíbamos la tele.

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Él hablaba · Nosotros íbamos · Era la una (singular: one o'clock) · Veíamos la tele.

Coming up in Chapter 6: Preterite or Imperfect? The contrast with worked stories; the time words that signal each; the same verb in both (conocí / conocía); interrupted actions (dormía cuando sonó…).