preterit imperfecto en español

1. 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!

2. hablaba
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

3. comía
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

4. escribía
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.

5. era
eras
era
éramos
erais
eran
There are only three irregular verbs!
ser Notice the
written
accent mark!
only on the
nosotros form

6. iba
ibas
iba
íbamos
ibais
iban
There are only three irregular verbs!
ir Notice the
written
accent mark!
only on the
nosotros form

7. veía
veías
veía
veíamos
veíais
veían
There are only three irregular verbs!
All forms have a written
accent over the í.
ver

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. FIN