So you want to learn the imperfect tense? Cool! This is one of the coolest tenses because it shows just how precise the Spanish language can be - in ways that English can’t.
One example of the imperfect tense is “Decías” which in certain contexts is translated as “You used to say.” Imagine that! One word in Spanish can equal four in English.
This is the power of the imperfect tense, it may only add a couple of letters to a word, but it communicates a completely new meaning afterward.
Let’s look over the conjugations, how to use them, and when to use them, and then we’ll read a bunch of sentences using them!
Ready to acquire the language?
¡Vamos! (Let’s go!)
What Is The Spanish Imperfect Tense?
The imperfect tense is used to talk about actions that were being carried out in the past but were interrupted, or no longer continue. This can include old habits, or old characteristics like "having long hair", etc. For example “I was talking with Joel when mom walked in” or "I used to have long hair."
How Does The Imperfect Tense Work In Spanish?
When using the imperfect tense in Spanish, most commonly we just take the verb ending off (AR, ER, IR) and add ÍA or ABA. For example:
Yo estaba corriendo cuando me llamaste (I was running when you called me)
Yo quería hablar, antes de que ella viniera (I wanted to talk, before she came)
So… When is it ÍA and when is it ABA?
Whenever a verb ends with AR, we use ABA (Hablar = Hablaba)
Whenever a verb ends with IR or ER, we use ÍA (Comer = Comía)
20 Most Common Verbs (In The Imperfect Tense)
Let's take a look at some of the most common verbs in the imperfect tense that we can better understand how this tense looks in Spanish. If you want to memorize these conjugations as soon as possible, write this information down. By writing it by hand, you'll acquire the conjugation naturally.
English Verb | Spanish Verb | Verb In The Imperfect Tense |
To be | Estar | Estaba |
To have | Tener | Tenía |
To do | Hacer | Hacía |
To say | Decir | Decía |
To call | Llamar | Llamaba |
To write | Escribir | Escribía |
To know | Saber | Sabía |
To take | Tomar | Tomaba |
To watch | Mirar | Miraba |
To come | Venir | Venía |
To think | Pensar | Pensaba |
To want | Querer | Quería |
To give | Dar | Daba |
To use | Usar | Usaba |
To find | Encontrar | Encontraba |
To ask | Preguntar | Preguntaba |
To work | Trabajar | Trabajaba |
To be familiar with | Conocer | Conocía |
To read | Leer | Leía |
Common Irregular Verbs In The Imperfect Tense
Here are some irregular verbs (verbs that don't follow common patterns) in the imperfect tense. If you wrote the last ones down, write these too! These are the tricky ones, fortunately, because they look so different - it helps them stand out. For this reason, you'll learn them relatively quick.
Ser (To be) 💁♂️
Yo (I) | Era |
Tú (You) | Eras |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Era |
Nosotros/Nosotras (We) | Éramos |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (They/You-Plural) | Eran |
Vosotros/Vosotras (You-Plural | Spain) | Erais |
Ir (To go) 🏃
Yo (I) | Iba |
Tú (You) | Ibas |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Iba |
Nosotros/Nosotras (We) | Íbamos |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (They/You-Plural) | Iban |
Vosotros/Vosotras (You-Plural | Spain) | Ibais |
Ver (To see) 👀
Yo (I) | Veía |
Tú (You) | Veías |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Veía |
Nosotros/Nosotras (We) | Veíamos |
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (They/You-Plural) | Veían |
Vosotros/Vosotras (You-Plural | Spain) | Veíais |
Examples Using Verbs In The Imperfect Tense
In this section, we’ll go over some example sentences using all of the verbs listed above. The verbs in their imperfect form will be underlined, and the infinite verb that they represent will be bolded.
Yo estaba durmiendo cuándo me llamaste [ESTAR]
(I was sleeping when you called me)
Ella tenía muchas muñecas hasta los 6 años [TENER]
(She had many dolls up until 6 years of age)
Él hacía ejercicio todos los días [HACER]
(He exercised every day)
Ella decía la verdad [DECIR]
(She used to tell the truth)
Él llamaba a su madre cada noche [LLAMAR]
(He used to call his mother every night)
Ella hacía pasteles deliciosos [HACER]
(She used to make delicious cakes)
Escribías en tu diario todas las tardes [ESCRIBIR]
(You used to write in your journal every afternoon)
Yo sabía la respuesta [SABER]
(I knew the answer)
Yo tomaba el autobús a la escuela [TOMAR]
(I used to take the bus to school)
Miraba por la ventana [MIRAR]
(He/She was watching through the window)
Venías a visitarnos los domingos [VENIR]
(You used to come visit us on Sundays)
Yo pensaba mucho en ese problema [PENSAR]
(I used to think a lot about that problem)
Mirabas las estrellas por las noches [MIRAR]
(You used to look at the stars at night)
Quería un helado [QUERER]
(I wanted an ice cream)
Él daba regalos en Navidad [DAR]
(He used to give gifts on Christmas)
Usabas una computadora vieja [USAR]
(You used to use an old computer)
Ella encontraba animales en el jardín [ENCONTRAR]
(She used to find animals in the garden)
Decías chistes divertidos [DECIR]
(You used to tell funny jokes)
Yo preguntaba muchas cosas [PREGUNTAR]
(I used to ask a lot of questions)
Él trabajaba en una tienda [TRABAJAR]
(He used to work in a store)
Conclusion: Spanish Imperfect Tense
To conclude, the imperfect tense is used to describe actions that were occurring in the past but were then interrupted. To use a verb in the imperfect tense, simply remove the verb ending (AR, ER, IR) and add its corresponding “imperfect ending” as seen below.
AR - ABA (Hablar - AR + ABA = Hablaba)
IR/ER - ÍA (Comer - ER + ÍA = Comía)
The coolest part about the imperfect tense is that it makes any verb you apply it to much more descriptive. For example: Decir means To tell, but Decía means “I used to say.” Pretty cool right?
If you're interested in learning another super important conjugation, check out this article where we go over the subjunctive tense - trust me, you’re gonna want to know this one!
Have a wonderful day/evening/night,
~ Ben