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: