The imperfect tense expresses actions that happened in the past that do not have a defined ending. It is usually used to describe the past in more general terms, rather than for specific events.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect tense, add the following endings to the stem:
yo | -aba |
tú | -abas |
él/ella/Ud. | -aba |
nosotros | -ábamos |
vosotros | -abais |
ellos/ellas/Uds. | -aban |
In the imperfect tense the yo and él/ella/Ud. forms are the same. You can use the pronoun (yo, él etc) if the subject of the verb is not clear from the context.
Example - cortar / to cut | ||
---|---|---|
yo | cortaba | I used to cut |
tú | cortabas | you used to cut |
él | cortaba | he used to cut |
nosotros | cortábamos | we used to cut |
vosotros | cortabais | you used to cut |
ellos | cortaban | they used to cut |
In the imperfect tense the verb endings are the same for -er and -ir verbs.
yo | -ía |
tú | -ías |
él/ella/Ud. | -ía |
nosotros | -íamos |
vosotros | -íais |
ellos/ellas/Uds. | -ían |
Example - comer / to eat | ||
---|---|---|
yo | comía | I used to eat |
tú | comías | you used to eat |
él | comía | he used to eat |
nosotros | comíamos | we used to eat |
vosotros | comíais | you used to eat |
ellos | comían | they used to eat |
Example - vivir / to live | ||
---|---|---|
yo | vivía | I was living |
tú | vivías | you were living |
él | vivía | he was living |
nosotros | vivíamos | we were living |
vosotros | vivíais | you were living |
ellos | vivían | they were living |
There are only three verbs that are irrregular in the imperfect form.
Ser | to be |
Ir | to go |
Ver | to see |
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