Imperfect tense  


One of the two simple past tenses in Spanish is the imperfect. The Imperfect Past tense is used to describe actions or situations that were incomplete or in progress at the point of time in the past that is being described. It is also used for ongoing conditions and repeated occurrences in the past.

The imperfect is the easiest, most regular tense in Spanish. You will notice below that -er and -ir verbs have the same endings (all with accents). The formation of the imperfect for the regular verb hablar (to speak) is shown in the table below.

hablar (example sentences) (full conjugation)


			

				yo
				hablaba
				(I was speaking)
				I used to speak
			

			

				tú
				hablabas
				(you were speaking)
				you used to speak
			

			

				Ud./ él/ ella
				hablaba
				(she was speaking)
				she used to speak
			

			

				nosotros
				hablábamos
				(we were speaking)
				we used to speak
			

			

				vosotros
				hablabais
				(you guys were speaking)
				you guys used to speak
			

			

				Uds./ ellos/ ellas
				hablaban
				(they were speaking)
				they used to speak
			

		

Note:
m = male f = female mix = mixed group
yo = I, tú = you (informal)
usted (Ud.) = you (formal)
él = he, ella = she
nosotros = we (m/mix), nosotras = we (f)
vosotros = you guys (informal, m/mix)
vosotras = you guys (informal, f)
ellos = they (m/mix), ellas = they (f)
ustedes (Uds.) = you all (formal)

-ar verbs in the imperfect tense




   yo
   -aba




   tú
   -abas




   Ud./él/ella
   -aba




   nosotros (as)
   -ábamos




   vosotros (as)
   -abais




   Uds./ellos/ellas
   -aban

pensar (example sentences) (full conjugation)




   yo
   pensaba
   (I thought)




   tú
   pensabas
   (you thought)




   Ud./él/ella
   pensaba
   (you/he/she thought)




   nosotros as
   pensábamos
   (we thought)




   vosotros as
   pensabais
   (you guys thought)




   Uds./ellos/ ellas
   pensaban
   (you all/they thought)

trabajar (example sentences)(full conjugation)




   yo
   trabajaba
   (I worked)




   tú
   trabajabas
   (you worked)




   Ud./él/ella
   trabajaba
   (you/he/she worked)




   nosotros as
   trabajábamos
   (we worked)




   vosotros as
   trabajabais
   (you guys worked)




   Uds./ellos/ ellas
   trabajaban
   (you all/they worked)

imperfect tense for verbs ending in -er and -ir




   yo
   -ía




   tú
   -ías




   Ud./él/ella
   -ía




   nosotros as
   -íamos




   vosotros as
   -íais




   Uds./ellos/ellas
   -ían

vivir (example sentences) (full conjugation)




   yo
   vivía
   (I lived)




   tú
   vivías
   (you lived)




   Ud./él/ella
   vivía
   (you/he/she lived)




   nosotros as
   vivíamos
   (we lived)




   vosotros as
   vivíais
   (you guys lived)




   Uds./ellos/ ellas
   vivían
   (you all/they lived)

sentir (example sentences)(full conjugation)




   yo
   sentía
   (I felt)




   tú
   sentías
   (you felt)




   Ud./él/ella
   sentía
   (you/he/she felt)




   nosotros as
   sentíamos
   (we felt)




   vosotros as
   sentíais
   (you guys felt)




   Uds./ellos/ ellas
   sentían
   (you all/they felt)

perder (example sentences)(full conjugation)




   yo
   perdía
   (I lost)




   tú
   perdías
   (you lost)




   Ud./él/ella
   perdía
   (you/he/she lost)




   nosotros as
   perdíamos
   (we lost)




   vosotros as
   perdíais
   (you guys lost)




   Uds./ellos/ ellas
   perdían
   (you all/they lost)



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