Spanish grammar · Elementary (A2)
The imperfect: describing the past
How to form the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), its three irregular verbs, and when to use it instead of the preterite.
Regular forms
The “imperfect” () is very regular. -ar verbs take endings with -aba-, and -er and -ir verbs take endings with -ía-. The and / / forms are the same, so add the subject if it isn't clear.
Note the written accents: has one, and every -ía- ending has one.
| Person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| / / | |||
| / | |||
| / | |||
| / / |
Only three irregular verbs
Only , and are irregular in the imperfect. Every other verb, even , and , is regular: , , .
(there is, there are) becomes (there was, there were).
| Person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| / / | |||
| / | |||
| / | |||
| / / |
When to use it
Use the imperfect for habits in the past, where English says “used to” or “would”: .
Use it for descriptions of people, places, the weather and situations in the past, including time and age: , , , .
Use it for an action that was in progress when something else happened: (I was at home when Ana called).
- Cuando era estudiante, trabajaba en un hotel.When I was a student, I worked in a hotel.
- Mi abuelo era alto y tenía el pelo negro.My grandfather was tall and had black hair.
- Había mucha gente en la playa.There were a lot of people on the beach.
Imperfect or preterite?
The preterite tells what happened: single, finished events, one after another, or actions with a clear length (). The imperfect describes the background: what things were like and what used to happen.
In a story, the two often appear together: the imperfect sets the scene and the preterite moves the story on.
| Imperfect | Preterite |
|---|---|
| (Every summer we used to go to the beach.) | (Last summer we went to the beach.) |
| (It was sunny.) | (It rained yesterday.) |
| (I lived / was living in London.) | (I lived in London for two years.) |
| … (I was sleeping…) | … (…when the phone rang.) |