Imperfect Tense
In this lesson you'll learn how to use the imperfect tense of Spanish verbs. The imperfect tense is another way of talking about events that happened in the past.
You'll also learn how to use the irregular verb decir, which means to say. More regular Spanish verbs are also included in this lesson.
Flashcards and a quiz are included at the end of the lesson to help you learn the concepts covered in this lesson.
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Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense is used in Spanish to indicate repeated actions that happened in the past, or an action that happened in the past for an indeterminate amount of time. Examples of the English equivalents of the imperfect tense are used to do and was doing.
The imperfect tense is also used when talking about the time in the past.
The following table shows the conjugation of the imperfect tense for the three classes of Spanish verbs.
| hablar | comer | vivir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| tú | hablabas | comías | vivías |
| usted | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| él, ella | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| nosotros | hablábamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros | hablabais | comíais | vivíais |
| ustedes | hablaban | comían | vivían |
| ellos, ellas | hablaban | comían | vivían |
Examples
| Yo tenía un gato. | I used to have a cat. |
| Yo pasaba muchos horas allí. | I used to spend many hours there. |
| Ella trabajaba. | She was working. |
| ¿Dónde estabas ayer? | Where were you yesterday? |
| ¿Qué tiempo hacía? | What was the weather like? |
| Hacía frío y llovía. | It was cold and it was raining. |
| ¿Qué hora era? | What time was it? |
| Eran las dos. | It was 2 o'clock. |
Decir
The verb decir means to say or to tell and is a very irregular. The following table show the conjugation of decir for the present and preterite tenses.
| pronoun | present | preterite | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | digo | dije | I say/said |
| tú | dices | dijiste | you say/said |
| usted | dice | dijo | you say/said (polite singular) |
| él/ella | dice | dijo | he/she/it says/said |
| nosotros | decimos | dijimos | we say/said |
| vosotros | decís | dijisteis | you say/said (familiar plural) |
| ustedes | dicen | dijeron | you say/said (plural) |
| ellos, ellas | dicen | dijeron | they say/said |
Past Participle: dicho
Examples
| Él dijo la verdad. | He told the truth. |
| Digo la verdad. | I tell the truth. |
| ¿Por qué dices eso? | Why do you say that? |
| Eso es lo que ella dijo. | That's what she said. |
| Les dije la respuesta. | I told them the answer. |
Vocabulary
Here are some more very common Spanish verbs.
| encontrar (ue) | find |
| perder | lose |
| recordar (ue) | remember |
| olvidar | forget |
| obtener (ie) | get, obtain |
| recibir | receive |
| tomar | take |
| ocurrir | happen |
| aprender | learn |
| enseñar | teach |
| dejar | leave, let, allow |
| mirar | look at |
| necesitar | need |
| abrir | open |
| cerrar (ie) | shut |
Examples
| Hugo perdió sus llaves. | Hugo lost his keys. |
| Lucía abre la puerta. | Lucía opens the door. |
| Pablo cierra la ventana. | Pablo closes the window. |
| ¿Recuerdas su nombre? | Do you remember his name? |
| Olvidé su nombre. | I forgot his name. |
Flashcards
Here are some flashcards to help you learn the imperfect tense of Spanish verbs.
Practice
Translate each of the following sentences using the imperfect tense.
I was working in the kitchen.
My father was writing a book.
My friend was eating an apple.
We were selling the flowers.
They were singing in the kitchen.
Quiz
This quiz covers the imperfect tense of Spanish verbs. You can take the quiz as many times as you'd like. Each time the questions will be a bit different.