Imperfect Tense Flashcards
What does the Imperfect Tense refer to?
Past actions that are not seen as completed
WAS/WERE
E.g I used to play basketball (Jugaba baloncesto)
How do you form the Imperfect Tense?
E.g Bailamos (We danced)
Take the infinitive of the verb
E.g Bailamos = Bailar
Remove the ending (in this case AR)
E.g Bailar = Bail (Stem)
Add the corresponding ending in the Imperfect tense (in this case the AR/”We” form)
E.g Bail = Bailábamos
What are the “AR” endings in the Imperfect Tense?
Yo (I) - Aba
Tú (You) - Abas
Él/Ella (He/She/It) - Aba
Nosotros (We) -Ábamos
Vosotros (You lot) - Abais
Ellos/Ellas (They) - Aban
What are the “ER/IR” endings in the Imperfect Tense?
Yo (I) - Ía
Tú (You) - Ías
Él/Ella (He/She/It) - Ía
Nosotros (We) - Íamos
Vosotros (You lot) - Íais
Ellos/Ellas (They) - Ían
What are the Imperfect endings for the irregular verb “SER” (To be)?
Yo (I) - Era
Tú (You) - Eras
Él/Ella (He/She/It) - Era
Nosotros (We) - Éramos
Vosotros (You lot) - Erais
Ellos/Ellas (They) - Eran
What are the Imperfect endings for the irregular verb “IR” (To go)?
Yo (I) - Iba
Tú (You) - Ibas
Él/Ella (He/She/It) - Iba
Nosotros (We) - Íbamos
Vosotros (You lot) - Ibais
Ellos/Ellas (They) - Iban
What are the Imperfect endings for the irregular verb “VER” (To see)?
Yo (I) - Veía
Tú (You) - Veías
Él/Ella (He/She/It) - Veía
Nosotros (We) - Veíamos
Vosotros (You lot) - Veíais
Ellos/Ellas (They) - Veían
Había
There was/were
When is the Imperfect Tense used?
Actions in the past repeated habitually
E.g Almorzábamos juntos todos los días (We used to have lunch everyday)
Actions in the past - set the stage
E.g Leía cuando entró mi padre (I was reading when my dad entered)
Tell the time
E.g Eran las siete de la noche (Ir was seven o clock at night)
State someone’s age at some point in the past
E.g La niña tenía cinco años (The little girl was five years old)
Ongoing actions in the past
E.g EL teléfono sonaba sin parar (The phone was ringing non - stop)
People - places - things in the past
E.g Era alta y delgada (She was tall/thin)
Modds/feelings in the past
E.g Estaba muy enfadado (I was really angry)
