Imperfect Regular Verbs

Welcome to the imperfecto (imperfect tense) — the second major past tense in Spanish. While the preterite deals with completed actions, the imperfect describes ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past.

The imperfect is sometimes called the "used to" and "was doing" tense, because it frequently translates to those English constructions.

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When Do We Use the Imperfect?

The imperfect is used for:

1. Habitual or repeated actions in the past — things you used to do
2. Ongoing actions — things that were happening (without a stated endpoint)
3. Descriptions — what things looked like, felt like, or were
4. Background information — setting the scene in a narrative
5. Age and time — telling how old someone was or what time it was
6. Emotional and physical states — how someone was feeling

Key idea: If the action has no clear beginning or end — if it was ongoing, habitual, or descriptive — use the imperfect.

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-AR Verb Imperfect Endings

Remove the -ar and add:

Person	Ending	Example: hablar
yo	-aba	hablaba
tú	-abas	hablabas
él / ella / usted	-aba	hablaba
nosotros / nosotras	-ábamos	hablábamos
vosotros / vosotras	-abais	hablabais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	-aban	hablaban

Notice: The yo and él/ella/usted forms are identical (hablaba). Context or subject pronouns clarify who is speaking.

Accent: The only accent mark is on the nosotros form: -ábamos.

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-ER/-IR Verb Imperfect Endings

Remove the -er or -ir and add:

Person	Ending	Example: comer	Example: vivir
yo	-ía	comía	vivía
tú	-ías	comías	vivías
él / ella / usted	-ía	comía	vivía
nosotros / nosotras	-íamos	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros / vosotras	-íais	comíais	vivíais
ellos / ellas / ustedes	-ían	comían	vivían

Notice: Again, -ER and -IR verbs share identical endings — just like in the preterite.

Accent: Every form has an accent on the í: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.

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Comparing the Two Sets of Endings

Person	-AR verbs	-ER/-IR verbs
yo	-aba	-ía
tú	-abas	-ías
él/ella/usted	-aba	-ía
nosotros/as	-ábamos	-íamos
vosotros/as	-abais	-íais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	-aban	-ían

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Full Conjugation Tables

Hablar (to speak)

Person	Conjugation	Translation
yo	hablaba	I used to speak / I was speaking
tú	hablabas	you used to speak
él / ella / usted	hablaba	he/she used to speak
nosotros/as	hablábamos	we used to speak
vosotros/as	hablabais	you all used to speak
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hablaban	they used to speak

Caminar (to walk)

Person	Conjugation	Translation
yo	caminaba	I used to walk / I was walking
tú	caminabas	you used to walk
él / ella / usted	caminaba	he/she used to walk
nosotros/as	caminábamos	we used to walk
vosotros/as	caminabais	you all used to walk
ellos / ellas / ustedes	caminaban	they used to walk

Comer (to eat)

Person	Conjugation	Translation
yo	comía	I used to eat / I was eating
tú	comías	you used to eat
él / ella / usted	comía	he/she used to eat
nosotros/as	comíamos	we used to eat
vosotros/as	comíais	you all used to eat
ellos / ellas / ustedes	comían	they used to eat

Vivir (to live)