El pretérito imperfecto en español

Spanish (ES)

English (US)

04 min 13 sec

Does the Spanish Imperfect tense confuse you? This past tense can be a true headache for some Spanish students, especially those whose native language is English. Luckily, this video is here to help you understand what the Imperfect is and when to use it. The Imperfect tense is used mostly to describe unfinished actions in the past or past actions that are continuing. It might seem too abstract, but once you get a hang of it, you'll instinctively know when to use it, don't worry. And to compensate, there are only three irregular verbs in the Imperfect! How great is that? Make sure to check the Teaching and Vocabulary Points that we created for you so that you don't miss a thing from these explanations. And don't forget to answer the questions, so that you put your knowledge into practice. How do you find the Imperfect tense? Do you think it's really that hard or is it simpler than it looks? Don't forget to share this video with your friends so that you can discuss it together. Stay learning!

In this video we present the formation and conjugation of the past tense of the indicative in Spanish of the regular and irregular verbs. In addition, we explain the uses of this tense of the past, without a doubt, it will be super useful to continue advancing in your learning of Spanish.

167 Unique Words (349 total)

Sort by Frequency

el — el determiner

en — en adposition

a — a adposition

y — y coordinating conjunction

pretérito — preterite noun

B2 imperfecto — imperfect adjective

de — de adposition

yo — yo pronoun

tú — your pronoun

él — él pronoun

{{ word.t }} — {{ word.tr }} {{ word.p }}

23%

55%

23% beginner 23% intermediate 55% undetermined

In this video, we are going to teach you how to use and conjugate the Imperfect tense of regular and irregular verbs.

What is the Imperfect tense? Well, it is a past tense that is used for:

Describing the past. Like, with the present indicative, we describe the present.

For example: "My grandmother had blonde hair."

Express habitual or repetitive actions in the past, for which we do not have specific time references.

For example: "As a child, she visited her grandparents every week."

Describe the circumstances or context of a completed or punctual action in the past.

For example: "When I went out, it was snowing, it was cold and there was hardly anyone on the street."

Let's see how this tense is conjugated.

We start with the verbs ending in "-ar". Let's use the verb "to work" as a model.

I used to work.

You used to work.

He, she, you (formal) used to work.

We used to work.

You guys used to work.

They, you guys (formal) used to work.

Now, we are going to conjugate the verbs ending in "-er" and "-ir", which have the same endings in the Imperfect tense.

We will use the verbs "to eat" and "to live".

I used to eat.

You used to eat.

He, she, you (formal) used to eat.

We used to eat.

You guys used to eat.

They, you guys (formal) used to eat.

I used to live.

You used to live.

He, she, you (formal) used to live.

We used to live.

You guys used to live.

They, you guys (formal) used to live.

Luckily, the Imperfect tense only has three irregular verbs: "to go", "to be", and "to see".

To go:

I used to go.

You used to go.

He, she, you (formal) used to go.

We used to go.

You guys used to go. They, you guys (formal) used to go.

To be:

I used to be.

You used to be.

He, she, you (formal) used to be.

We used to be.

You guys used to be.

They, you guys (formal) used to be.

To see:

I used to see.

You used to see.

He, she, you (formal) used to see.

We used to see.

You guys used to see.

They, you guys (formal) used to see.

Finally, the Imperfect tense usually goes with temporary markers such as: "always", "every day", "sometimes",

"usually", "every month", "before", "often", etc.

For example: "Every month I use to go to Seville."

"Before, we used to eat at that restaurant."

"I used to travel abroad often."

Now you are ready to use the imperfect tense.

Leave us your examples and questions in comments.

Until the next video.

En este video, vamos a enseñarte a usar y conjugar el pretérito imperfecto de los verbos regulares e irregulares.

¿Qué es el pretérito imperfecto? Pues, es un tiempo verbal de pasado que se usa para:

Describir el pasado. Al igual que con el presente de indicativo, describimos el presente.

Por ejemplo: "Mi abuela tenía el pelo rubio."

Expresar acciones habituales o repetitivas en el pasado, de las que no tenemos referencias temporales concretas.

Por ejemplo: "De niña, visitaba a sus abuelos todas las semanas."

Describir las circunstancias o el contexto de una acción terminada o puntual en el pasado.

Por ejemplo: "Cuando salí, nevaba, hacía frío y no había casi nadie en la calle."

Vamos a ver cómo se conjuga este tiempo.

Comenzamos con los verbos terminados en "-ar". Pongamos como modelo el verbo "trabajar".

Yo trabajaba.

Tú trabajabas.

Él, ella, usted trabajaba.

Nosotros, nosotras trabajábamos.

Vosotros, vosotras trabajabais. ais Ellos

Ellos, ellas, ustedes trabajaban.

Ahora, vamos a conjugar los verbos terminados en "-er" e "-ir", que tienen las mismas endings en el pretérito imperfecto.

Usaremos los verbos "comer" y "vivir".

Yo comía.

Tú comías.

Él, ella, usted comía.

Nosotros, nosotras comíamos.

Vosotros, vosotras comíais. ais Ellos

Ellos, ellas, ustedes comían.

Yo vivía.

Tú vivías.

Él, ella, usted vivía.

Nosotros, nosotras vivíamos.

Vosotros, vosotras vivíais.

Ellos, ellas, ustedes vivían.

Por suerte, el pretérito imperfecto solo tiene tres verbos irregulares: "ir", "ser", y "ver".

Ir:

Yo iba.

Tú ibas.

Él, ella, usted iba.

Nosotros, nosotras íbamos.

Vosotros, vosotras ibais. Ellos, ellas, ustedes iban.

Ser:

Yo era.

Tú eras.

Él, ella, usted era.

Nosotros, nosotras éramos.

Vosotros, vosotras erais.

Ellos, ellas, ustedes eran.

Ver:

Yo veía.

Tú veías.

Él, ella, usted veía.

Nosotros, nosotras veíamos.

Vosotros, vosotras veíais.

ais Ellos veían.

Para terminar, el pretérito imperfecto suele ir con marcadores temporales del tipo: "siempre", "todos los días", "a veces",

"generalmente", "cada mes", "antes", "a menudo", etcétera.

Por ejemplo: "Cada mes iba a Sevilla."

"Antes, comíamos en ese restaurante."

"Viajaba a menudo al Foreign

Ahora ya estás preparado para usar el pretérito imperfecto.

Déjanos tus ejemplos y preguntas en comentarios.

Hasta el próximo vídeo.