Imperfect Tense Verbs

Question 1

What are the endings of regular -er and -ir verbs (such as comer and sentir) conjugated in the Imperfect Tense?

Answer 1

• ía (yo)
• ías (tú)
• ía (él/ella/ud)
• íamos (nosotros)
• íais (vosotros)
• ían (ellos/ellas/uds

Question 2

What is the imperfect tense in Spanish?

Answer 2

The imperfect tense describes an action that could have occurred more than once over a span of time, with no specific beginning or ending. Examples:

An unspecified amount of time --> De joven, quería un carro, "When I was young, I wanted a car"
An indefinite number of occurrences, such as a habit or custom --> Desayunaba todos los días con mi hermano, "I used to eat breakfast every day with my brother"

Question 3

TO BE - Ser (Imperfect)

    I used to be
    You used to be
    He/She used to be
    We used to be
    You used to be
    They used to be

Answer 3

SER (Tiempo Imperfecto)

    Yo era
    Tú eras
    Él/Ella/Ud era
    Nosotros éramos
    Vosotros erais
    Ellos/Ellas/Uds eran

Note that the conjugations for ser in the imperfect tense are irregular

Question 4

When do you use the preterite and the imperfect tenses?

Answer 4

Preterite:

An action that occurred once as a single event
An action that occurred a limited number of times
An action that was contained witihin a specific time frame

Imperfect:

An action that was customary or habitual in the past
An action that was ongoing
An action that was contained within a broad time frame

A
How well did you know this?

Question 5

Raúl and Rodrigo were walking on the street when I came out of my house

Answer 5

Raúl y Rodrigo estaban caminando en la calle cuando yo salí de mi casa

was/were + __ing - estar (imperfect) + participle. This combination is known as the imperfect progressive tense

Question 6

TO WALK (Imperfect)

    I used to walk
    You used to walk
    He/She used to walk
    We used to walk
    You used to walk
    They used to walk

Answer 6

CAMINAR (Tiempo Imperfecto)

    Yo caminaba
    Tú caminabas
    Él/Ella/Ud caminaba
    Nosotros caminábamos
    Vosotros caminabais
    Ellos/Ellas/Uds caminaban

Question 7

What is the imperfect progressive tense in Spanish?

Answer 7

The imperfect progressive is the Spanish equivalent of “was __-ing”. Like the present progressive (e.g. está estudiando), the imperfect progressive (e.g. estaba estudiando) is comprised of estar conjugated in the imperfect and a present participle:

Estábamos escuchando el radio -  "We were listening to the radio."

Question 8

TO GO (Imperfect)

    I used to go
    You used to go
    He/She used to go
    We used to go
    You used to go
    They used to go

Answer 8

IR (Tiempo Imperfecto)

    Yo iba
    Tú ibas
    Él/Ella/Ud iba
    Nosotros ibamos
    Vosotros ibais
    Ellos/Ellas/Uds iban

Remember that the conjugations for ir in the imperfect tense are irregular

Question 9

TO FEEL (Imperfect)

    I used to feel
    You used to feel
    He/She used to feel
    We used to feel
    You used to feel
    They used to feel

Answer 9

SENTIR(SE) (Tiempo Imperfecto)

    Yo (me) sentía
    Tú (te) sentías
    Él/Ella/Ud (se) sentía
    Nosotros (nos) sentíamos
    Vosotros (os) sentíais
    Ellos/Ellas/Uds (se) sentían

Note that -ir verbs are conjugated the same as -er verbs in the preterite tense

Question 10

What are the endings of regular -ar verbs (such as caminar) conjugated in the Imperfect Tense?

Answer 10

Regular Imperfect -ar endings

- aba (yo)
- abas (tú)
- aba (él/ella/ud)
- ábamos (nosotros)
- abais (vosotros)
- aban (ellos/ellas/uds)

Question 11

We had just arrived when my mom called

Answer 11

Acabábamos de llegar cuando llamó mi mamá

Note that conjugating acabar in the imperfect tense allows us to indicate that something “had just” happened

Question 12

TO BE - Estar (Imperfect)

Answer 12

Yo estaba
Tu estabas
El/Ella/Usted estaba
Nosotros estabamos
Vosotros estabais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes estaban