esconderse Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect tense to describe actions that were happening continuously in the past, or habitual actions in the past, without a specific end point. For example, 'Cuando era niño, me escondía en el armario' (When I was a child, I used to hide in the closet). It sets the background scene.

Notes on esconderse in the Imperfect

Esconderse is regular in the imperfect indicative. The conjugation is straightforward: take the infinitive 'esconder', add the imperfect endings '-se' for the reflexive pronoun, and then the standard imperfect endings: '-ía', '-ías', '-ía', '-íamos', '-íais', '-ían'. This gives us 'me escondía', 'te escondías', etc.

Example Sentences

• Cuando jugábamos, tú siempre te escondías.

  When we played, you always used to hide.

  tú

• Nos escondíamos en el parque todos los días.

  We used to hide in the park every day.

  nosotros

• Ella se escondía detrás de la cortina.

  She was hiding behind the curtain.

  él/ella/usted

• Ellos se escondían cuando llegaba la policía.

  They were hiding when the police arrived.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for background description.

  Correct: Use imperfect for ongoing or habitual past actions: 'Me escondía' (I was hiding/used to hide).

  Why: The imperfect describes the scene or habit, while the preterite describes a completed event within that scene.

• Mistake: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun.

  Correct: Always include the correct reflexive pronoun: 'me escondía', 'te escondías', etc.

  Why: Esconderse is reflexive; the pronoun is essential to indicate the action is done to oneself.

Related Tenses