The imperfect tense(El tiempo imperfecto)

Antes, siempre hacía mis

compras en las mejores

boutiques.

Sí, pero con las rebajas que ofrecen

en este almacén . . .¡qué ganga!

hablaba

The conjugation of -ar verbs

hablhabl

habl

hablabasaba

ábamos

aban

There are no irregular -ar verbs in the imperfect!

Notice the written

accent mark!

only on the nosotros form

Just as with other tenses, we always start with the stem of the verb.

hablar

comíacomcom

com

comíasía

íamos

íanAll forms have a written

accent over the í.

The conjugation of -er verbs

comer

escribíaescribescrib

escrib

escribíasía

íamos

ían

The conjugation of -ir verbs

All forms have a written accent over the í.

escribir

Notice that the conjugation of -ir verbs is identical to that of -er verbs.

eraerasera

éramos

eran

There are only three irregular verbs!

serNotice the

written accent mark!

only on the nosotros form

ibaibasiba

íbamos

iban

There are only three irregular verbs!

irNotice the

written accent mark!

only on the nosotros form

veíaveíasveía

veíamos

veían

There are only three irregular verbs!

All forms have a written accent over the í.

ver

The imperfect is always used to express age and time of day in the past:

Yo tenía quince años cuando aprendí a manejar.

Eran las diez cuando el tren llegó a la estación.

The use of the imperfect

I was fifteen years old when I learned to drive.

It was ten o’clock when the train arrived at the station.

While the preterit tense is used to describe actions viewed as completed, the imperfect is used to . . .

• Express ongoing actions and states in the past, without reference to their beginning or ending

• Express mental, physical, and emotional states in the past

• Describe scenarios and situations in the past

• Express that which happened habitually

The use of the imperfect

One of the classic uses of the imperfect is to describe our childhood habits and activities:

Expressing the habitual (used to, would)

Cuando yo era niño, yo . . .

. . . siempre estudiaba solo en mi cuarto.

. . . jugaba con mis amiguitos todos los días.

The use of the imperfect

When I was a child, I . . .

. . . always studied (used to study) alone in my room.

. . . would play with my friends every day.

Expressing the habitual (used to, would)

. . . comía cereal cada mañana.

. . . leía tebeos todo el tiempo.

. . . iba todos los veranos a Disneylandia con mis padres.

The use of the imperfect

Cuando yo era niño, yo . . .When I was a child, I . . .

. . . used to eat cereal every morning.

. . . read comic books all the time.

. . . would go to Disneyland every summer with my parents.

Expressing the habitual (used to, would)

Pedro comía en ese restaurante todos los sábados.

The use of the imperfect

Pedro used to eat at that restaurant every Saturday.

Of course, the imperfect is not limited to discussing childhood activities. Any habitual activities are expressed in the imperfect.

Ana iba de compras todo el tiempo.Ana used to go shopping all the time.

The imperfect expresses something that was happening at a given time, without reference to its beginning or ending:

Expressing the ongoing (was . . . ing)

Roberto estudiaba en su cuarto.

Elena lavaba los platos en la cocina.

Ayer a eso de las cuatro yo leía el periódico mientras mi esposa miraba la tele.

The use of the imperfect

Roberto was studying in his room.

Elena was washing the dishes in the kitchen.

Yesterday around four o’clock I was reading the newspaper while my wife was watching TV.

Expressing mental, physical and emotional statesAlicia estaba contenta durante el

concierto.

Nos sentíamos mal después de comer allí.

The use of the imperfect

Alicia was happy during the concert.

We felt sick after eating there.

De niño yo siempre creía en Santa Claus.As a child I always believed in Santa Claus.

Los estudiantes no querían estudiar aunque sabían que era necesario.

The students didn’t want to study even though they knew that it was necessary.

Describing scenarios and situations

Era un día triste. Hacía muy mal tiempo y llovía. Yo leía en mi cuarto y esperaba una llamada telefónica. Anita practicaba el piano en la sala y los niños jugaban a la pata coja en el garaje.

The use of the imperfect

It was a sad day. The weather was very bad and it was raining. I was reading in my room and waiting for a telephone call. Anita was practicing the piano in the living room and the children were playing hopscotch in the garage.

2. Habitual action

1. Age and time of day in the pastYo tenía treinta años cuando me casé.

Overview of the use of the imperfect

I was thirty years old when I got married.

Eran las tres cuando Hugo llegó.It was three o’clock when Hugo arrived.

De niño, yo siempre comía cereal.As a child, I always used to eat cereal.

Íbamos al parque con frecuencia.We would go to the park frequently.

Hablábamos español en nuestra casa.We spoke Spanish in our house.

3. Ongoing action

4. Description—setting the scene

Overview of the use of the imperfect

Carlos leía el periódico mientras su hijo cortaba el césped.Carlos was reading the newspaper while his son was mowing the lawn.

Era un día muy lúgubre. El cielo estaba nublado y llovía a cántaros.

It was a very gloomy day. The sky was cloudy and it was raining cats and dogs.

5. Mental, physical, and emotional states

Overview of the use of the imperfect

Juan pensaba que necesitaba más dinero del que tenía para el viaje.

Juan thought that he needed more money than he had for the trip.

FIN