Spanish Imperfect Tense

Spanish Imperfect with common verbs and examples

Introduction:

The imperfect is not a very descriptive name for a tense.
I prefer to call it the Yabba-Dabba Do! tense because we can use it to speak about Fred Flintstone. Here is an example:

Fred Flintstone lived in Bedrock. He worked in a quarry. He started work at 9am. He was short and fat. His wife Wilma was pretty. Their daughter Pebbles was 2 years old.
At the weekend, he would eat a lot and he would go bowling with his friend Barnie.

Fred Picapiedra vivía en Bedrock. Trabajaba en una cantera. Empezaba a trabajar a las 9 de la mañana. Era bajo y gordo. Su esposa Wilma era bonita. Su hija Pebbles tenía 2 años. Los fines de semana comía mucho y jugaba a los bolos con su amigo Barnie.

The Spanish imperfect tense is used in the following situations:

1. HABITUAL or REPEATED ACTIONS in the past

This is similar to sentences in English with used to or would:
El director trabajaba en una oficina en la décima planta.
The manager used to work in an office on the 10th floor. / He worked in an office on the 10th Floor.

Mi madre cogía el autobús con mucha frecuencia.
My mother would often catch the bus. / My mother often caught the bus


2. TIMES IN THE PAST

Eran las 9:00 de la mañana.
It was nine o'clock in the morning.


3. DATES IN THE PAST:

Era el 25 de diciembre - Día de Navidad.
It was 25th December - Christmas Day.


4. AGES IN THE PAST:

Cuando el niño tenía 11 años, la familia visitó Valencia.
When the boy was 11, the family visited Valencia.


5. TELLING A STORY or DESCRIBING A SITUATION

Era verano, hacía sol y la princesa jugaba al tenis.
It was summer, it was sunny and the princess was playing tennis.


6. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE (CHARACTERISTICS, FEELINGS, etc.)

La princesa era alta, tenía el pelo corto y tenía ojos verdes.
The princess was tall, she had short hair and she had green eyes.

HOW TO FORM THE IMPERFECT TENSE

Take the stem of the verb (i.e. the part of the verb before -ar, -er or -ir: e.g. tom- for the verb tomar) and add the following endings:

REGULAR VERBS

Subject	-ar Verbs	-er and -ir Verbs
yo	-aba	-ía
tú	-abas	-ías
él, ella, usted	-aba	-ía
nosotros	-ábamos	-íamos
vosotros	-abáis	-íais
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-aban	-ían

IRREGULAR VERBS

Subject	IR To Go	SER To be
yo	iba	era
tú	ibas	eras
él, ella, usted	iba	era
nosotros	íbamos	éramos
vosotros	ibais	erais
ellos, ellas, ustedes	iban	eran