The Imperfect Tense
-ABA endings for -AR verbs, -ÍA endings for -ER/-IR verbs. Use the imperfect for ongoing past states, habitual actions, and descriptions.
A lesson of Spanish A2 — Elementary, in Past Tense, about 10 minutes.
The Imperfect Tense (El Imperfecto)
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in the imperfect tense and identify the four core situations where the imperfect is the correct choice.
What the Imperfect Expresses
The imperfect describes past situations that were ongoing, repeated, or without a clear end point. Where the preterite says "it happened (and ended)," the imperfect says "it was happening / used to happen / was the state of things."
Think of the imperfect as painting background on a canvas; the preterite stamps events onto it.
-AR Verb Endings
Drop -AR, add:
| Pronoun | Ending | hablar example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -aba | hablaba |
| tú | -abas | hablabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -aba | hablaba |
| nosotros | -ábamos | hablábamos |
| vosotros | -abais | hablabais |
| ellos/Uds. | -aban | hablaban |
Note the accent: hablábamos — the accent on the á is required.
-ER and -IR Verb Endings
Both share the same endings:
| Pronoun | Ending | comer example | vivir example |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -ía | comía | vivía |
| tú | -ías | comías | vivías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -ía | comía | vivía |
| nosotros | -íamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros | -íais | comíais | vivíais |
| ellos/Uds. | -ían | comían | vivían |
Every form has a written accent on the í (the diaeresis keeps the two vowels separate: co-mí-a).