The Imperfect Tense
See also: Preterite, Past Subjunctive
There are two kinds of past tenses in Spanish.
| Imperfect | Preterite |
|---|---|
| Something happening over an unspecific period of time. Routines in the past When telling a story: "Scene-setting;" Descriptions of people, things, and ongoing truths in the past. Describing the situation of the story (exception: locations and times) | Something completed instantaneously / with a start and end OR over a specific, bounded period of time. When telling a story: clear-cut events in the past; each step of what action happened. Often the punchy or snappy actions that happen in the foreground, sometimes interrupting the background “scene” that the imperfect set. |
Conjugating regular verbs in the Imperfect:
AR verbs (Caminar)
| Yo caminaba | Nosotros caminabamos |
|---|---|
| Tú caminabas | |
| Él/ella/Ud. caminaba | Ellos/ellas/Uds. caminaban |
ER + IR verbs (Comer)
| Yo comía | Nosotros comíamos |
|---|---|
| Tú comías | |
| Él/ella/Ud. comía | Ellos/ellas/Uds. comían |
Irregular verbs in the Imperfect - only 3!
- Ir (to go) → Iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
- Ser (to be) → Era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
- Ver (to see) → Veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían
- Prever (to foresee / foresee) → Preveía, preveías, preveía, preveíamos, preveíais, preveían
- Entrever (to glimpse / suspect) → Entreveía, entreveías, entreveía, entreveíamos, entreveíais, entreveían