ser Imperfect Conjugation
ser — to be
The imperfect of ser is one of only three irregular verbs in this tense: era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran.
ser Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for descriptions in the past, telling time, or stating your age/profession in a continuous way before something else happened.
Notes on ser in the Imperfect
While most verbs use -aba or -ía, ser uses the 'era' stem. Note the accent only on the 'nosotros' form (éramos).
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, jugaba mucho.
When I was a child, I played a lot.
yo
Eran las tres de la tarde.
It was three in the afternoon.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Mi abuelo era muy alto.
My grandfather was very tall.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'éramos'.
Correct: Always write 'éramos' with an accent.
Why: Without the accent, the stress would fall on the wrong syllable according to Spanish rules.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'ser' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: soy
The present of ser is highly irregular and essential: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son.
Preterite
yo: fui
The preterite of ser shares the exact same forms as the verb 'ir' (to go): fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
Future
yo: seré
The future of ser is regular: seré, serás, será, seremos, seréis, serán.
Conditional
yo: sería
The conditional of ser is regular: sería, serías, sería, seríamos, seríais, serían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sea
The present subjunctive of ser is irregular: sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: fuera
The imperfect subjunctive of ser uses the 'fuer-' stem: fuera, fueras, fuera, fuéramos, fuerais, fueran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sé
The affirmative imperative of ser is used for commands: sé, sea, seamos, sed, sean.
Negative Imperative
yo: no seas
The negative imperative of ser uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no seas, no sea, no seamos, no seáis, no sean.