Imperfect (Past Continuous)
Indicative
1Formation
Formation of the Imperfect
The Imperfect is one of the most regular tenses in Spanish — there are only three irregular verbs!
Regular Verbs
| Pronoun | -AR (hablar) | -ER (comer) | -IR (vivir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| tú | hablabas | comías | vivías |
| él/ella | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| nosotros | hablábamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros | hablabais | comíais | vivíais |
| ellos/ellas | hablaban | comían | vivían |
Note: The endings for -ER and -IR verbs are identical in the imperfect. Accent: Note the accent in nosotros: hablábamos, comíamos, vivíamos.
2Conjugation Table
| Person | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| tú | hablabas | comías | vivías |
| él/ella | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| nosotros | hablábamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros | hablabais | comíais | vivíais |
| ellos/ellas | hablaban | comían | vivían |
3Usage
Usage of the Imperfect
1. Ongoing or repeated actions in the past For habits or regular actions that took place in the past. De niño, jugaba al fútbol todos los días. — As a child, I played football every day.
2. Background descriptions For descriptions of states, feelings, or the background of a story. Era una noche oscura y llovía mucho. — It was a dark night and it was raining heavily.
3. Simultaneous past actions For two actions happening at the same time in the past. Mientras comía, veía la televisión. — While I was eating, I was watching television.
4. Interrupted action (background action) The imperfect describes the ongoing action interrupted by the preterite. Dormía cuando sonó el teléfono. — I was sleeping when the phone rang.
5. Polite requests (Imperfecto de cortesía) For particularly polite requests. Quería un café, por favor. — I would like a coffee, please.
6. Age, time, and descriptions in the past Tenía diez años cuando empecé a aprender inglés. — I was ten years old when I started learning English.
4Signal Words
5Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, vivía en Barcelona.
When I was a child, I lived in Barcelona.
Todos los veranos íbamos a la playa.
Every summer we went to the beach.
Mientras estudiaba, escuchaba música.
While I was studying, I was listening to music.
Era tarde y estaba muy cansado.
It was late and I was very tired.
De pequeña, quería ser médica.
When she was little, she wanted to be a doctor.
Antes, no había internet.
Before, there was no internet.
¿Qué hacías cuando te llamé?
What were you doing when I called you?
El cielo estaba despejado y brillaba el sol.
The sky was clear and the sun was shining.
6Irregular Verbs
The three irregular verbs in the imperfect
| Verb | yo | tú | él/ella | nosotros | vosotros | ellos/ellas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ser | era | eras | era | éramos | erais | eran |
| ir | iba | ibas | iba | íbamos | ibais | iban |
| ver | veía | veías | veía | veíamos | veíais | veían |
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