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!

habl aba

The conjugation of -ar verbs

habl

habl

habl

habl

habl

abas

aba

ábamos

abais

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

com ía

com

com

com

com

com

ías

ía

íamos

íais

ían

All forms have a written accent over the í.

The conjugation of -er verbs

comer

escrib ía

escrib

escrib

escrib

escrib

escrib

ías

ía

íamos

íais

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.

era

eras

era

éramos

erais

eran

There are only three irregular verbs!

ser Notice the

written accent mark!

only on the nosotros form

iba

ibas

iba

íbamos

ibais

iban

There are only three irregular verbs!

ir Notice the

written accent mark!

only on the nosotros form

veía

veías

veía

veíamos

veíais

veían

There are only three irregular verbs!

All forms have a written accent over the í.

ver

Palabras Claves (Key Words)

• How do you know when to use the imperfect?

Here are some key words to look for

• Todos los días Los lunes

• Siempre Generalmente

• A menudo Mientras

• Cada día De vez en cuando

• Muchas veces Nunca

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 indirect statements

• 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.

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 indirect statements

• Express that which happened habitually

The use of the imperfect

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.

Frequently the ongoing action is interrupted by another abrupt or completed action that is expressed, of course, in the preterit:

Roberto estudiaba en su cuarto cuando el teléfono sonó.

Elena lavaba los platos en la cocina cuando alguien tocó a la puerta.

The use of the imperfect Expressing the ongoing (was . . . ing)

Roberto was studying in his room when the phone rang.

Elena was washing the dishes in the kitchen when someone knocked at the door.

Frequently the ongoing action is interrupted by another abrupt or completed action that is expressed, of course, in the preterit:

Conversábamos con el dependiente cuando Lourdes entró en la joyería.

Las chicas salían de la tienda cuando Jorge las vio.

The use of the imperfect Expressing the ongoing (was . . . ing)

We were talking with the clerk when Lourdes entered the jewelry store.

The girls were leaving the store when Jorge saw them.

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 indirect statements

• Express that which happened habitually

The use of the imperfect

Expressing mental, physical and emotional states

Alicia 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.

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 indirect statements

• Express that which happened habitually

The use of the imperfect

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.

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 indirect statements

• Express that which happened habitually

The use of the imperfect

Expressing indirect statements

Carlos dijo que Juan venía a mi casa a las ocho.

Los agentes afirmaron que los espías hablaban muy bien el inglés.

El volante policíaco representa que el delincuente era bajo y cojeaba un poco.

The use of the imperfect

Carlos said that Juan was coming to my house at eight o’clock.

The agents affirmed that the spies spoke English very well.

The police flyer states that the criminal was short and limped somewhat.

2. Habitual action

1. Age and time of day in the past

Yo 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

6. Indirect statements

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.

Pancho dijo que su hermano vendía su coche.

Pancho said that his brother was selling his car.

FIN