Imperfect Tense in Spanish

In Brief

Use the Spanish imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) to present a past situation as ongoing, repeated, or descriptive: Vivíamos en Madrid can mean “We lived” or “We used to live in Madrid.” Regular -ar verbs take -aba endings, while regular -er and -ir verbs take -ía endings. Only three verbs are irregular: ser, ir, and ver.

Overview

The imperfect is a past tense: a verb form that places an action or state before the present. Unlike the preterite (pretérito indefinido), it normally does not present that past event as a complete whole with a clear boundary. Instead, it lets you look inside a past period: what people used to do, what was happening, what something was like, or what conditions formed the background to another event.

This distinction matters because English does not have one verb form that matches the Spanish imperfect in every situation. Depending on context, hablaba may mean “I was speaking,” “I used to speak,” “I spoke,” or even “I had been speaking.” Do not choose the tense by translating an isolated English verb. Ask how the speaker views the past situation: as background or ongoing/repeated activity, or as a completed event?

The core pattern is introduced around A2. At first, focus on three high-value uses: past habits, past descriptions and states, and actions already in progress. The later sections add contrasts and stylistic uses that you can recognize now and master gradually.

How It Works

Forming regular verbs

Start with the infinitive (the dictionary form, such as hablar or comer), remove -ar, -er, or -ir, and add the appropriate ending.

Subject	hablar (to speak)	comer (to eat)	vivir (to live)
yo	hablaba	comía	vivía
tú	hablabas	comías	vivías
él / ella / usted	hablaba	comía	vivía
nosotros/as	hablábamos	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros/as	hablabais	comíais	vivíais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hablaban	comían	vivían

The complete sets of endings are:

Verb group	Imperfect endings
-ar	-aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban
-er / -ir	-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían

Notice the written accents. In -ar verbs, only the nosotros/as form has one: hablábamos. In -er and -ir verbs, every imperfect ending contains an accented í. The yo and third-person singular forms are identical, so context or an explicit subject may be needed: Comía temprano can mean “I ate early,” “he ate early,” or “she ate early.”

Spanish often leaves out a subject pronoun because the verb ending and context identify the subject. Add it when clarification or contrast is useful: Yo vivía en Sevilla, pero ella vivía en Cádiz.

The only three irregular verbs

The imperfect has far fewer irregular forms than the preterite. Learn these three complete patterns:

Subject	ser (to be)	ir (to go)	ver (to see/watch)
yo	era	iba	veía
tú	eras	ibas	veías
él / ella / usted	era	iba	veía
nosotros/as	éramos	íbamos	veíamos
vosotros/as	erais	ibais	veíais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	eran	iban	veían

Although ver keeps recognizable -ía endings, its stem is ve-, not a regular form built by removing all of -er. Other verbs that are highly irregular in the present or preterite are regular in the imperfect: tener → tenía, hacer → hacía, decir → decía, poder → podía.

Main uses

1. Habits and repeated actions

Use the imperfect for something that happened regularly or characteristically during a past period.

• Siempre comía a las dos. — I always used to eat at two.
• Los domingos visitábamos a mis abuelos. — On Sundays we visited my grandparents.

Words such as siempre (always), a menudo (often), cada día (every day), normalmente (normally), and de niño/a (as a child) often support this meaning. They are clues, not automatic rules: the intended view of the action still controls the tense.

2. Descriptions, circumstances, and ongoing states

Use the imperfect to say what people, places, weather, or circumstances were like, and for states that continued without a stated endpoint.

• La casa era pequeña y tenía un jardín. — The house was small and had a garden.
• Hacía buen tiempo. — The weather was nice.
• Queríamos descansar. — We wanted to rest.

This often includes thoughts, feelings, possession, ability, and knowledge: pensaba, quería, tenía, podía, sabía. These verbs can also occur in the preterite when the meaning is a completed event or a change of state; they are not “imperfect-only” verbs.

3. Age and clock time in the past

Spanish normally uses the imperfect for age and the time shown on the clock when these provide past background.

• Cuando tenía diez años, vivía en Lima. — When I was ten, I lived in Lima.
• Eran las nueve. — It was nine o’clock.
• Era la una. — It was one o’clock.

Spanish expresses age with tener (“to have”), not ser: tenía veinte años, literally “I had twenty years.”

4. An action already in progress

The imperfect can show an activity in progress when another event occurred. The ongoing background is in the imperfect; the event that advances the story is commonly in the preterite.

• Leía cuando sonó el teléfono. — I was reading when the phone rang.
• Mientras cocinábamos, llegó Marta. — While we were cooking, Marta arrived.

The imperfect itself is often enough to express English “was/were doing.” Spanish can also use estar in the imperfect plus a gerund (the -ando/-iendo form), such as estaba leyendo. That more explicitly focuses on the activity in progress.

5. Two simultaneous background actions

When two activities were unfolding at the same time, both commonly use the imperfect.

• Mientras yo cocinaba, Ana ponía la mesa. — While I was cooking, Ana was setting the table.

Imperfect or preterite?

The difference is not simply “long action versus short action.” A long event can be presented as completed, and a brief event can be repeated habitually. The key is the speaker’s viewpoint.

View of the past	Typical tense	Example
Habit, repeated pattern	Imperfect	Cada verano íbamos a Galicia. — Every summer we went to Galicia.
Description or background state	Imperfect	El hotel estaba cerca del mar. — The hotel was near the sea.
Activity in progress	Imperfect	Dormía cuando llamaste. — I was sleeping when you called.
Completed event seen as a whole	Preterite	Ayer fui al médico. — Yesterday I went to the doctor.
Bounded number of repetitions	Preterite	Fui allí tres veces. — I went there three times.
Event that moves the story forward	Preterite	De repente, se apagó la luz. — Suddenly, the light went out.

Compare Vivíamos en Madrid (“We lived/used to live in Madrid”), which opens a view into that situation, with Vivimos en Madrid durante dos años (“We lived in Madrid for two years”), which packages the two-year period as complete. Duration alone does not decide the tense; the way that duration is presented does.

Examples in Context

Spanish	English	Note
Cuando era niño, jugaba en esta plaza.	When I was a child, I used to play in this square.	Age period and repeated action
Siempre comía a las dos.	I always used to eat at two.	Regular past habit
Vivíamos en Madrid, cerca del Retiro.	We lived in Madrid, near Retiro Park.	Continuing past situation
Mi abuela llevaba gafas y tenía el pelo blanco.	My grandmother wore glasses and had white hair.	Physical description
Hacía buen tiempo y el mar estaba tranquilo.	The weather was nice, and the sea was calm.	Background conditions
Eran las ocho y todavía había mucha gente en la calle.	It was eight o’clock, and there were still many people in the street.	Clock time and scene-setting
De pequeña, iba a la biblioteca cada sábado.	As a child, I used to go to the library every Saturday.	Habit with irregular ir
Veíamos una película cuando se fue la luz.	We were watching a film when the power went out.	Ongoing action interrupted by an event
Mientras tú estudiabas, yo preparaba la cena.	While you were studying, I was making dinner.	Simultaneous actions
No sabía la respuesta, pero quería ayudar.	I did not know the answer, but I wanted to help.	Knowledge and desire as states
Antes podía correr diez kilómetros sin parar.	I used to be able to run ten kilometres without stopping.	Past ability
La oficina era pequeña, pero tenía mucha luz.	The office was small, but it had plenty of light.	Description with ser and tener
Llovía cuando salimos del restaurante.	It was raining when we left the restaurant.	Weather in progress plus completed event
Cada vez que llamaba, su padre contestaba.	Every time she called, her father answered.	Repeated paired events

Common Mistakes

Using the preterite for every English simple past

• Wrong: Cuando fui niño, jugué aquí todos los días. (for a general childhood habit)
• Right: Cuando era niño, jugaba aquí todos los días.
• Why: English “was” and “played” do not force a completed viewpoint. Childhood background and an open-ended daily habit normally call for the imperfect.

Mixing the -ar and -er/-ir endings

• Wrong: Yo comaba allí.
• Right: Yo comía allí.
• Why: -aba belongs to -ar verbs. Both -er and -ir verbs use -ía: comía, vivía.

Dropping written accent marks

• Wrong: Viviamos cerca y veiamos el mar.
• Right: Vivíamos cerca y veíamos el mar.
• Why: Accent marks are part of Spanish spelling. All -ía imperfect endings have an accented í, and the nosotros/as form of an -ar verb has -ábamos.

Inventing irregular stems

• Wrong: Haciba frío or teniba sueño.
• Right: Hacía frío; tenía sueño.
• Why: There are only three irregular imperfect verbs: ser, ir, and ver. Other verbs use the regular stem plus the appropriate endings.

Treating cuando as a tense rule

• Wrong idea: “A verb after cuando must be imperfect.”
• Right: Cuando vivía allí, iba andando al trabajo but Cuando llegué, llamé a Ana.
• Why: Cuando means “when”; it does not choose the tense. Use the imperfect for background or habit and the preterite for completed events.

Assuming every ongoing action needs estaba + gerund

• Less natural in many contexts: Cuando estaba siendo niño...
• Right: Cuando era niño...
• Why: The imperfect already expresses ongoing states and background. Use estaba + gerund for an activity whose progress you specifically want to emphasize, not as a replacement for every imperfect.

Usage Notes

Time expressions are helpful but not decisive. Siempre and cada verano often accompany the imperfect because they suggest repetition. Expressions such as ayer or durante tres años often occur with the preterite when a completed period is meant. Yet context can change the viewpoint: Ayer a las ocho dormía describes what was in progress at eight yesterday.

The vosotros/as forms (hablabais, comíais, vivíais) are standard in most of Spain for informal plural “you.” In most of Latin America, speakers use ustedes with the third-person plural forms (hablaban, comían, vivían) in both informal and formal settings. This is a pronoun difference, not a different use of the imperfect.

English “used to” is a useful learning cue, but it is not a word-for-word formula. Spanish usually expresses that meaning with the simple imperfect: Antes trabajaba de noche. The construction solía + infinitive also means “used to/tended to”: Solía trabajar de noche. It emphasizes customary behavior, while the plain imperfect can also describe states and background.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to produce all of these uses at A2, but you will encounter them in conversation and more advanced texts.

Meaning shifts with certain verbs

With verbs describing knowledge, ability, desire, or acquaintance, the imperfect often presents a continuing state, while the preterite may present an event, result, or change. The exact English translation depends on context.

Imperfect: state/background	Preterite: event/result
Sabía la verdad. — I knew the truth.	Supe la verdad ayer. — I found out the truth yesterday.
Podía entrar. — I was able/allowed to enter.	Pude entrar. — I managed to enter.
No quería hablar. — I did not want to talk.	No quise hablar. — I refused/did not want to talk on that occasion.
Conocía a Laura. — I knew Laura.	Conocí a Laura en 2020. — I met Laura in 2020.

These are tendencies created by aspect (how an event is viewed), not separate dictionary rules that erase context.

Polite and softened requests

In speech, the imperfect can make a present request, wish, or intention sound less abrupt:

• Quería pedirle un favor. — I wanted to ask you a favor.
• Venía a recoger un paquete. — I’m here to pick up a parcel.

The form is grammatically past, but the social effect is to create distance and soften the request. English also sometimes uses a past form this way (“I wanted to ask…”), so the effect may feel familiar.

Imagined play and abandoned plans

Children can use the imperfect to establish roles in pretend play: Yo era la médica y tú eras el paciente (“I was the doctor and you were the patient”). In adult conversation, it can also introduce a plan that may no longer happen: Íbamos a salir, pero empezó a llover (“We were going to go out, but it started raining”).

Narrative style

A narrative often alternates between the imperfect and preterite. The imperfect builds the scene—weather, time, emotions, ongoing activity—while the preterite marks the sequence of completed events. This “background versus foreground” model is more reliable than trying to classify verbs as permanently belonging to one tense.

Practice Tips

1. Build three mini-paradigms from memory. Conjugate one -ar, one -er, and one -ir verb, then add ser, ir, and ver. Say the forms aloud and write the accents.
2. Describe an old routine. Write six sentences beginning with cues such as de niño/a, normalmente, cada sábado, and mientras. Include age, time, weather, and one repeated action.
3. Practice the viewpoint contrast. Take a short story and mark background details in one color and completed events in another. Then choose imperfect for the background and preterite for the event line; check each choice by asking “inside the situation, or as a whole?”

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Preterite (Indefinido) — learn how Spanish presents completed past events before comparing the two viewpoints.
• Next step: Preterite vs Imperfect — develop the contrast in narratives and contexts where either tense changes the meaning.
• Later connection: Indirect Speech — see how past reporting verbs can affect tense choices in what is reported.