The other past tense…

Things to know about the Imperfect…P physical or emotional statesH habitual actionsA ageT time and weather C continuing actionsO ongoing situationsW when

P is for Physical/Emotional

You are talking about previous mental, physical, or emotional conditions.

Por ejemplo:Ella estaba cansada y muy triste.- She was tired and very sad.

H is for Habitual actions

The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.

Almorzábamos juntos todos los días.We would lunch together every day.

A if for Age and T is for Time and Weather The imperfect is used for telling time and

stating one's age and for also describing the weather in the past.

Eran las siete de la noche.It was seven o'clock at night.

La niña tenía cinco años.The little girl was five years old.

Hacía mal tiempo. Llovía. It wa s ba d we a the r. It wa s ra ining .

C is for Continuing and O is for Ongoing… The imperfect tense is used to express

something that was not completed or does not have a definite beginning or end.

A past action or state being viewed as in progress. In English we often use the past progressive for this: “was/were ...-ing”.

Mirábamos las mariposas. We were watching the butterflies.

W is for When...

The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.

Yo leía cuando entró mi papá.I was reading when my papa entered. (note that "entered" is preterite)

Las conjugaciones del Las conjugaciones del ImperfectoImperfecto

abaaba ábamosábamosabasabas abaisabaisabaaba abanaban

“AR” verbos

íaía íamosíamos

íasías íaisíais

íaía íanían

“ER”/”IR” verbos

Note: The accent in the nosotros form.

Note: The accents on all of the i s.

““hablar”- imperfect tense…hablar”- imperfect tense…

hablabahablaba hablábamoshablábamos

hablabashablabas hablabaishablabais

hablabahablaba hablabanhablaban

hablar = to talk, to speak

Por ejemplo: Yo siempre hablaba a mi abuela por teléfono.I always used to talk to my grandmother on the phone.

““comer”- imperfect tense…comer”- imperfect tense…

comíacomía comíamoscomíamos

comíascomías comíaiscomíais

comíacomía comíancomían

comer= to eat

Por ejemplo: Siempre comíamos la cena de el día de acción de gracias a las seis de la noche.We always used to eat dinner on Thanksgiving day at 6 at night.

““vivir”- imperfect tense…vivir”- imperfect tense…

vivíavivía vivíamosvivíamos

vivíasvivías vivíaisvivíais

vivíavivía vivíanvivían

vivir = to live

Por ejemplo: Yo vivía en Alabama cuando era niña.I lived in Alabama when I was a little girl.

Solamente hay 3 especiales en el imperfecto!!

veíaveía veíamosveíamosveíasveías veíaisveíaisveíaveía veíanveían

eraera éramoséramos

eraseras eraiserais

eraera eraneran

ser – to be ibaiba íbamosíbamos

ibasibas ibaisibais

ibaiba ibaniban

ir – to go

ver – to see

Tell-Tale signs of Imperfect…

a veces - sometimes cada año/ cada dia -

every year/every day de vez en cuando -

once in a while todos los dias -

everyday muchas veces -

many times mucho - a lot

por un rato - for a while

siempre - always tantas veces - so

many times generalmente -

usually frecuentemente -

frequently

Imperfect Progressive…

This form is very similar to that of Present Progressive (I was walking, He was talking, etc.) in that “estar” is used with another verb with –ando or –iendo attached to the end of it.

Por ejemplo:Yo estoy caminando…Mark está hablando….

Más de Imperfect Progressive…

The only thing that differs is that with the Imperfect Progressive you use the imperfect form of estar instead of the present tense.

Por ejemplo:Yo estaba caminando….Mark estaba hablando….

*”ar” verbs – ando *y changers- yendo* “er/ir” verbs – iendo