Table of Contents

• How to Form the Imperfect Tense
  • Regular -AR Verbs
  • Regular -ER and -IR Verbs
• The Three (and only three!) Irregular Verbs
  • 1. Ser (to be)
  • 2. Ir (to go)
  • 3. Ver (to see)
• When to Use the Imperfect Tense: The "WATER" Rule
  • W: Weather
  • A: Age
  • T: Time
  • E: Emotions & Feelings
  • R: Repetitive Actions & Descriptions
• Imperfect vs. Preterite: The Ultimate Showdown
• Let's Practice!
• You've Got This!

The Spanish Imperfect Tense: A Complete Guide to Describing the Past

Ever wanted to tell a story about your childhood in Spanish? Describe what your old neighborhood was like, what you used to do every summer, or what was happening when something surprising occurred? If so, you’re in the right place!

Welcome to your complete guide to the Spanish Imperfect Tense, or el pretérito imperfecto.

Think of the past as a movie. Some actions are the main plot points: the hero arrived, he fought the dragon, he saved the day. That's another tense called the preterite.

The imperfect tense, however, is the scenery, the background music, and the character descriptions. It's the "wavy-lined flashback" tense. It describes what was happening, what things were like, and what you used to do. It’s the key to making your stories about the past come alive.

Recalling memories and describing past habits is the heart of the imperfect tense

In this guide, we'll unlock the magic of the imperfect, covering:

• What it is and why it's different from the preterite.
• How to form it (good news: it’s one of the easiest tenses!).
• Exactly when to use it with a handy acronym.
• Practice exercises to make it stick.

Let's dive in and become past-tense storytellers!

How to Form the Imperfect Tense

One of the best things about the imperfect is how regular it is. Once you learn the patterns for -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs, you're 90% of the way there.

Regular -AR Verbs

For regular -AR verbs, you simply drop the -AR and add one of these endings: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban.

Notice that the yo and the él/ella/usted forms are the same! Context will always tell you who is doing the action.

Let's see it with caminarto walk:

Pronoun	Ending	Example: caminar
yo	-aba	caminaba (I was walking / I used to walk)
tú	-abas	caminabas (You were walking / you used to walk)
él/ella/Ud.	-aba	caminaba (He/she was walking / used to walk)
nosotros/as	-ábamos	caminábamos (We were walking / we used to walk)
vosotros/as	-abais	caminabais (You all were walking / used to walk)
ellos/ellas/Uds.	-aban	caminaban (They were walking / used to walk)

Example Sentence:

CuandoWhen eraI was niñoa child, caminabaI used to walk a la escuelaschool todos los díasevery day. (When I was a child, I used to walk to school every day.)

Regular -ER and -IR Verbs

Even better news! -ER and -IR verbs share the exact same set of endings in the imperfect. Just drop the -ER or -IR and add: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.

Let's look at comerto eat (-ER) and vivirto live (-IR):

Pronoun	Ending	Example: comer	Example: vivir
yo	-ía	comía (I was eating / I used to eat)	vivía (I was living / I used to live)
tú	-ías	comías (You were eating / used to eat)	vivías (You were living / used to live)
él/ella/Ud.	-ía	comía (He/she was eating / used to eat)	vivía (He/she was living / used to live)
nosotros/as	-íamos	comíamos (We were eating / used to eat)	vivíamos (We were living / used to live)
vosotros/as	-íais	vivíais (You all were living / used to live)	comíais (You all were eating / used to live)
ellos/ellas/Uds.	-ían	comían (They were eating / used to eat)	vivían (They were living / used to live)

Example Sentences:

De pequeñossmall, comíamoswe used to eat muchosa lot of dulcessweets. (When we were little, we used to eat a lot of sweets.)

Mis abuelosgrandparents vivíanused to live en el campothe countryside. (My grandparents used to live in the countryside.)

The Three (and only three!) Irregular Verbs

You read that right. In a world of tricky Spanish grammar, the imperfect tense is a gift. There are only three irregular verbs. Let's meet them.

Even with only three irregular verbs, the path to mastery is clear

1. Ser (to be)

Used for descriptions, characteristics, professions, and identity in the past.

Pronoun	Conjugation
yo	era
tú	eras
él/ella/Ud.	era
nosotros/as	éramos
vosotros/as	erais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	eran

Mi padrefather era médicoa doctor. (My father was a doctor.) Nosotros éramos muy buenosvery good amigosfriends. (We were very good friends.)

2. Ir (to go)

Used for talking about places you used to go.

Pronoun	Conjugation
yo	iba
tú	ibas
él/ella/Ud.	iba
nosotros/as	íbamos
vosotros/as	ibais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	iban

Cada veranosummer, mi familiafamily iba a la playabeach. (Every summer, my family would go to the beach.) ¿Adónde ibas despuésafter de las clasesclasses? (Where did you use to go after classes?)

3. Ver (to see)

Used for things you used to see or watch.

Pronoun	Conjugation
yo	veía
tú	veías
él/ella/Ud.	veía
nosotros/as	veíamos
vosotros/as	veíais
ellos/ellas/Uds.	veían

Yo veía dibujos animadoscartoons los sábadosSaturdays por la mañanamorning. (I used to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings.) Desde mi ventanawindow, veía los árbolestrees. (From my window, I could see the trees.)

When to Use the Imperfect Tense: The "WATER" Rule

Okay, you know how to form the imperfect. But the big question is when to use it, especially when the preterite also exists.

The imperfect tense helps us describe the weather and set the scene for our stories.

To make it easy, remember the acronym WATER. You use the imperfect to talk about:

• Weather
• Age
• Time
• Emotions & Feelings
• Repetitive Actions & Descriptions

Let's break it down.

W: Weather

When you describe the weather in the past, you're setting a scene. It wasn't sunny for just one second; it was a condition.

• Hacía solsun y hacía calorheat. (It was sunny and hot.)
• Llovía muchoa lot en esathat ciudadcity. (It used to rain a lot in that city.)

A: Age

When you state someone's age in the past, you always use the imperfect form of tenerto have.

• Cuando tenía diez añosyears, aprendíI learned a montarto ride en bicibicycle. (When I was ten years old, I learned to ride a bike.)
• Mi hermanasister tenía cinco añosyears en esa fotothat photo. (My sister was five in that photo.)

T: Time

Telling time in the past also uses the imperfect. You'll use era for one o'clock and eran for all other hours.

• Era la una de la tardeafternoon cuando el teléfonophone sonórang. (It was one in the afternoon when the phone rang.)
• Eran las diez de la nochenight y todavíastill no dormíaI was sleeping. (It was ten at night and I still wasn't sleeping.)

E: Emotions & Feelings

Describing how someone was feeling or what they were thinking is a classic use of the imperfect. These are internal states, not actions.

• Yo estaba muy contentohappy con la noticianews. (I was very happy with the news.)
• Ellos se sentían nerviososnervous antesbefore del examenexam. (They felt nervous before the exam.)
• Pensaba que la películamovie era aburridaboring. (I thought the movie was boring.)

R: Repetitive Actions & Descriptions

This is the big one! It covers two key areas:

1. Repetitive or Habitual Actions ("used to" / "would always") If you did something repeatedly in the past without a clear beginning or end, use the imperfect.

• De niñoa child, jugaba al fútbolsoccer con mis amigosfriends. (As a child, I used to play soccer with my friends.)
• Mi abuelagrandmother siempre nos preparaba galletascookies. (My grandmother would always prepare cookies for us.)

2. Descriptions (Setting the Scene) Describing people, places, and situations in the past. What were they like?

• La casahouse era grandegrande y tenía un jardíngarden preciosobeautiful. (The house was big and had a beautiful garden.)
• El hombreman llevaba un sombrerohat negroblack. (The man was wearing a black hat.)

Imperfect vs. Preterite: The Ultimate Showdown

This is often the trickiest part for learners. When do you use the imperfect, and when do you use its spiky, action-oriented cousin, the preterite?

Think of it this way:

Imperfect (Wavy Lines)	Preterite (Single Dots)
Background Info: Describes the scene	Main Action: Moves the story forward
"Used to" or "would" do something	A specific, completed action
Ongoing action in the past ("was -ing")	An action that interrupts another
No clear beginning or end	A clear beginning and end
Descriptions, feelings, time, age, weather	Single events, chain of events

Let’s see them in action together. The imperfect sets the scene, and the preterite provides the action.

Llovía (Imperfect: it was raining) y hacía (Imperfect: it was) fríocold. Yo leía (Imperfect: I was reading) un librobook en el sofásofa cuando de repentesuddenly, el timbredoorbell sonó (Preterite: rang).

See how it works? The rain, the cold, and the reading were all ongoing background details. The doorbell ringing was a single, completed event that interrupted the scene.

The difference here is subtle but important.

• Conocía a tu hermano. (I knew your brother.) This describes a state of knowing him over a period of time.
• Conocí a tu hermano. (I met your brother.) This describes the single event of meeting him for the first time.

Let's Practice!

Time to put your knowledge to the test. Choose the correct imperfect form for each sentence.

You've Got This!

The imperfect tense is your key to becoming a better storyteller in Spanish. It adds color, depth, and context to your past narratives.

Remember the key takeaways:

• It's for descriptions and repeated actions.
• The endings are super regular: -aba for -AR verbs, and -ía for -ER/-IR verbs.
• There are only three irregulars: ser (era), ir (iba), and ver (veía).
• When in doubt, think WATER: Weather, Age, Time, Emotions, Repetitive actions/Descriptions.

It might feel a little strange at first, especially when comparing it to the preterite, but with practice, it will become second nature. Keep telling stories, keep describing your memories, and soon the imperfect will be your best friend. ¡Tú podías hacerlo! (See? You were able to do it!)