Imperfect forms of -er verbs  



Gramática
The preterite is used to talk about completed actions in the past.

The imperfect is used to talk about what you used to do
or what you were like in the past and about actions that
continued for an unspecified amount of time.

Cuando yo era joven, tenía muchos novios.
When I was young, I used to have many boyfriends.

The verb tener (to have) is
regular in the imperfect tense.

The imperfect tense endings are:
ía íamos
ías íais
ía ían

Imperfect tense forms of tener (to have)

yo tenía (I was having, used to have) nosotros teníamos (we were having, used to have)
tú tenías (you were having, used to have) vosotros teníais (you guys were having, used to have)
Ud./él/ella tenía (you were having, he/she was having, used to have) Uds./ellos/ ellas tenían (you all/they were having, used to have)

Sentences with tener

Cuando era niño tenía que comer verduras. - When I was a child I used to have to eat vegetables.
Mi primer carro no tenía radio. - My first car didn't have a radio.
Mi hermana tenía solo dos libros cuando era niña. - My sister used to have only two books when she was a little girl.
Ella tenía mucho dinero, pero lo perdió en un mal negocio. - She used to have a lot of money, but she lost it in a bad transaction.
Juan tenía cuatro gatos cuando vivía en la granja. - Juan used to have 4 cats when he was living in the farm.
Tú tenías malas notas cuando estabas en la universidad. - You used to have bad grades when you were in college.
Nosotros teníamos un buen empleo cuando vivíamos en Madrid. - We used to have a good job when we lived in Madrid.
Ellos tenían una mala reacción al agua. - They were having a bad reaction to the water.

Notes for the Tutor

  • The student should repeat these simple sentences to practice vocabulary and improve pronunciation.
  • The tutor should ask the student questions using TENER in the imperfect.
  • Suggested Homework:The student should prepare 5 sentences or more using TENER in the imperfect.The student should begin memorizing the conjugation.

Use these free Spanish conjugation charts and guides.



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