A2
The imperfect
How the Spanish imperfect is formed, its three irregular verbs, and what it is used for.
| -ar (hablar) | -er / -ir (comer) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaba | comía |
| tú | hablabas | comías |
| él / ella | hablaba | comía |
| nosotros | hablábamos | comíamos |
| vosotros | hablabais | comíais |
| ellos | hablaban | comían |
-er and -ir share one set, as in the preterite. Every -ía form carries an accent, and it never moves.
Cuando era pequeño, vivía en Sevilla.
when I-was small, I-lived in Seville
When I was little, I lived in Seville.
Three irregulars, and that is all
| ser | era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran |
| ir | iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban |
| ver | veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían |
No other verb is irregular here. Compare the preterite, which has a long list — the imperfect is the easiest tense in Spanish.
yo and él are identical
Hablaba is both I was speaking and he was speaking. Where it matters, the pronoun is stated — one of the few places a subject pronoun earns its keep.
What it is for
Description, habit, age, weather, time, and things that were going on.
Hacía frío y no había nadie.
it-made cold and not there-was nobody
It was cold and there was nobody there.
Todos los veranos íbamos a la playa.
all the summers we-went to the beach
Every summer we went to the beach.
Ayer comía en un restaurante y volvía a casa.
Ayer comí en un restaurante y volví a casa.
Two completed actions take the preterite. The imperfect here would mean you were in the middle of both when something interrupted — see which past tense.