Confusing Imperfect and Preterite

This 'venía' form is the Imperfect tense. Use it to talk about repeated actions in the past (habits) or actions that were ongoing and interrupted, or to set the scene for a story.

The Imperfect Tense

Use 'venía' (Imperfect) for actions that were continuous or habitual ('She used to come'). Use 'vino' (Preterite) for a single, completed action ('She came yesterday').

Imperfect vs. Preterite

If you see time words like 'siempre' (always), 'a menudo' (often), or 'cada semana' (every week) referring to the past, you almost always need the Imperfect tense like 'venía'.

Key Time Markers

Extremely common. This is a fundamental past tense form of the verb 'venir' (to come).

Learn the meaning and correct usage of 'venía' (I/he/she was coming, used to come), the irregular imperfect tense form of the Spanish verb 'venir' (to come). Includes examples and conjugation.

venía

Complete Conjugation Tables

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

future

imperfect

conditional

preterite

imperative

negative

affirmative

subjunctive

present

imperfect

Practice Conjugations