'Parecía' vs. 'Pareció'

Use 'parecía' to describe how something seemed, looked, or felt over a period of time in the past. It sets the scene, like painting a picture with words, without focusing on a specific start or end time.

Describing the Past with 'Parecía'

'Parecía' is perfect for starting a story. For example: 'Era una noche oscura y la calle parecía desierta.' (It was a dark night and the street seemed deserted.)

Setting the Scene

Extremely common. Used constantly to describe past appearances or situations.

Forgetting the 'Who'

To say what someone thought, you must add a little word before 'parecía' to show who had the opinion. 'Me parecía' is 'I thought,' 'te parecía' is 'you thought,' 'le parecía' is 'he/she thought.'

Expressing Opinions with 'me, te, le...'

Saying 'Me parecía que...' is often a softer, more polite way of sharing a past opinion than saying 'Yo creía que...' (I believed that...). It acknowledges that it was just your impression.

Sounding Less Direct

Extremely common for expressing past opinions or thoughts.

Learn the complete meaning of 'parecía' in Spanish. Understand its two main uses: 'seemed/looked' for descriptions and 'I thought' for opinions. Includes full conjugations, examples, and common mistakes.

parecía

Complete Conjugation Tables

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

future

imperfect

conditional

preterite

imperative

negative

affirmative

subjunctive

present

imperfect

Practice Conjugations