Imperfect: Background, Habit & Description

💡

Spanish Assistant

Ready to help

I'm your lesson assistant. Ask me to explain any concept, drill you on the grammar, or give you extra practice for what you're studying right now.

Imagine you are describing your childhood in Bogota. "When I was little, it rained every afternoon. My grandmother always made chocolate santafereno. We lived near Monserrate." None of these are single, completed events -- they are backgrounds, habits, and descriptions of how things used to be. That is the imperfect tense, and it is one of the most satisfying tenses to learn because its conjugation is incredibly regular.

Self-Rating

B1-B2 Language Objectives

Conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect (-aba endings)
Conjugate regular -er/-ir verbs in the imperfect (-ia endings)
Master the only 3 irregular imperfect verbs: ser (era), ir (iba), ver (veia)
Use the imperfect for: habitual past actions, background descriptions, age, time, weather, and feelings
Distinguish imperfect time markers: siempre, todos los dias, de nino, en esa epoca, generalmente

1. What Is the Imperfect?

If the preterite is a camera snapshot (click -- done!), the imperfect is a video camera rolling -- it captures ongoing scenes, repeated habits, and background states with no defined endpoint.

Use the imperfect for:

Habitual past actions: Siempre desayunaba a las siete. (I always used to have breakfast at seven.)
Background description / setting a scene: Llovia y hacia frio. (It was raining and it was cold.)
Age in the past: Cuando tenia diez anos... (When I was ten years old...)
Time in the past: Eran las tres de la tarde. (It was three in the afternoon.)
Weather in the past: Hacia mucho calor en Cali. (It was very hot in Cali.)
Feelings / mental states: Estaba cansado. Queria dormir. (I was tired. I wanted to sleep.)
Ongoing actions interrupted by another event: Caminaba por el parque cuando... (I was walking through the park when...)

🔑

Imperfect = 'used to' or 'was doing'

Tap to reveal

English does not have one clean translation for the imperfect. It can mean 'used to' (habitual: comia = I used to eat), 'was -ing' (ongoing: comia = I was eating), or simply past description (era alto = he was tall). All three map to the same Spanish form.

Tap to flip back

2. Regular Imperfect Conjugation

Here is the best news in all of Spanish grammar: the imperfect has only 3 irregular verbs. Everything else is perfectly regular.

-AR Verbs (hablar = to speak)

Pronoun	Ending	Example
yo	-aba	hablaba
tu	-abas	hablabas
usted/el/ella	-aba	hablaba
nosotros	-abamos	hablabamos
ustedes/ellos/ellas	-aban	hablaban

-ER and -IR Verbs (comer = to eat / vivir = to live)

Pronoun	Ending	Comer	Vivir
yo	-ia	comia	vivia
tu	-ias	comias	vivias
usted/el/ella	-ia	comia	vivia
nosotros	-iamos	comiamos	viviamos
ustedes/ellos/ellas	-ian	comian	vivian

Why the Imperfect Is Easy

Notice two things: (1) -er and -ir verbs share the same endings (just like in the preterite). (2) The yo and usted/el/ella forms are identical in both sets (-aba/-aba, -ia/-ia). Context tells you who is speaking. And there are only 3 irregulars. This is arguably the easiest tense in all of Spanish.

Knowledge Check

What is the imperfect of 'yo + caminar'?

Knowledge Check

Complete: 'Nosotros ___ (vivir) en Medellín cuando éramos niños.'

Knowledge Check

The imperfect of 'ella + comer' is:

Quick Check-in

3. The Only 3 Irregulars

Memorize these three and you have conquered the entire imperfect tense.

ser (to be)

Pronoun	Form
yo	era
tu	eras
usted/el/ella	era
nosotros	eramos
ustedes/ellos/ellas	eran

ir (to go)

Pronoun	Form
yo	iba
tu	ibas
usted/el/ella	iba
nosotros	ibamos
ustedes/ellos/ellas	iban

ver (to see)

Pronoun	Form
yo	veia
tu	veias
usted/el/ella	veia
nosotros	veiamos
ustedes/ellos/ellas	veian

💡

Why is 'ver' irregular?

Tap to reveal

Ver is only slightly irregular - it keeps the 'e' from the stem: ve-ía instead of the expected v-ía. The endings are still the standard -ía set. Some grammarians barely consider it irregular. Compare: comer → comía (drops the -e-), but ver → veía (keeps the -e-).

Tap to flip back

⚡

ser vs estar in the imperfect

Tap to reveal

'Era' (imperfect of ser) describes inherent characteristics: 'Era alto' (He was tall). 'Estaba' (imperfect of estar - regular!) describes states/conditions: 'Estaba cansado' (He was tired). Estar is REGULAR in the imperfect: estaba, estabas, estaba, estábamos, estaban.

Tap to flip back

Knowledge Check

Complete: 'Cuando yo ___ (ser) niño, ___ (ir) al parque todos los días.'

Knowledge Check

What is the imperfect of 'nosotros + ver'?

4. Imperfect Time Markers

These words and phrases are your signal that the imperfect is the right choice:

Marker	Meaning	Example
siempre	always	Siempre llegaba tarde.
todos los dias	every day	Todos los dias caminaba al colegio.
de nino/a	as a child	De nina, vivia en Bucaramanga.
en esa epoca	at that time	En esa epoca, no habia internet.
generalmente	generally	Generalmente estudiaba por la noche.
a menudo	often	A menudo visitabamos a los abuelos.
mientras	while	Mientras llovia, leia un libro.
cada verano	every summer	Cada verano ibamos a la costa.

📋

Preterite markers vs Imperfect markers

Tap to reveal

PRETERITE: ayer, anoche, el año pasado, una vez, de repente (specific completed moments). IMPERFECT: siempre, todos los días, de niño, generalmente, mientras (habits, descriptions, ongoing states). The marker tells you which tense to choose.

Tap to flip back

5. Imperfect in Colombian Life

Childhood Memories in the Colombian Andes

Abuela: Cuando yo era nina, no habia television. Nosotros jugabamos en la calle todos los dias. Tu abuelo siempre traia panela del campo y yo hacia agua de panela para toda la familia. Llovia todas las tardes, pero no nos importaba -- saliamos a jugar en la lluvia.

Every verb is imperfect because the grandmother is painting a picture of how life used to be -- habitual actions, ongoing states, and background description. No single event starts or ends.

Describing a Past Vacation Spot

You: El hotel era pequeno pero tenia una vista increible. Estaba cerca de la playa. Todas las mananas yo caminaba por la arena y veia los pescadores que salian a las cinco. El agua era tibia y el cielo siempre estaba azul.

This is pure scene-setting. You are describing the characteristics of the hotel (era, tenia, estaba) and habitual activities during the trip (caminaba, veia). All imperfect.

Knowledge Check

'De niño, siempre ___ (jugar) fútbol en la calle.' Which form is correct?

Quick Check-in

6. Common Imperfect Patterns in Speech

Setting the Scene with Imperfect

Weather: "Hacia sol..." / "Llovia..." / "Hacia frio..."
Time: "Eran las tres de la tarde..."
Location/description: "Estabamos en el parque. Habia mucha gente."
Feelings: "Yo estaba contento. Ella parecia nerviosa."
Habitual action: "Siempre ibamos alli los domingos."

🔑

The 'había' pattern (there was / there were)

Tap to reveal

Había is the imperfect of 'haber' used impersonally. It means 'there was' or 'there were' (same form for both singular and plural): 'Había un gato' (there was a cat), 'Había muchas personas' (there were many people). Extremely common in descriptions.

Tap to flip back

Reflection

Key Takeaways

The imperfect describes ongoing states, habitual actions, and background descriptions in the past
Regular -ar endings: -aba, -abas, -aba, -abamos, -aban
Regular -er/-ir endings: -ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -ian
Only 3 irregular verbs: ser (era), ir (iba), ver (veia)
Estar is regular in the imperfect: estaba, estabas, estaba...
Time markers like siempre, todos los dias, de nino, generalmente signal imperfect
The imperfect sets the scene; the preterite (Lesson 1) tells what happened

This Week's Practice

Day 1-2: Describe your childhood routine in 5 sentences using imperfect. Example: "De nino, vivia en... Siempre iba a... Todos los dias comia..."
Day 3-4: Describe a place you used to visit regularly. Use at least 3 descriptive imperfects (era, tenia, estaba, habia).
Day 5-7: Write a paragraph describing "how things were" 10 years ago. What did you used to do? Where did you live? What was your routine?
Daily: When you catch yourself saying "I used to..." or "I was ...-ing," translate to imperfect.

Home

Your Learning Path

Your Support

Bogotá

Resources

Spanish Assistant

Imperfect: Background, Habit & Description

Loading Quiz...

Lesson discussion

Leave a comment

1. What Is the Imperfect?

2. Regular Imperfect Conjugation

-AR Verbs (hablar = to speak)

-ER and -IR Verbs (comer = to eat / vivir = to live)

3. The Only 3 Irregulars

ser (to be)

ir (to go)

ver (to see)

4. Imperfect Time Markers

5. Imperfect in Colombian Life

6. Common Imperfect Patterns in Speech

Setting the Scene with Imperfect

Key Takeaways

This Week's Practice

•••Home

•••Your Learning Path

•••Your Support

•••Bogotá

•••Resources

Spanish Assistant

Imperfect: Background, Habit & Description

Loading Quiz...

Lesson discussion

Leave a comment

1. What Is the Imperfect?

2. Regular Imperfect Conjugation

-AR Verbs (hablar = to speak)

-ER and -IR Verbs (comer = to eat / vivir = to live)

3. The Only 3 Irregulars

ser (to be)

ir (to go)

ver (to see)

4. Imperfect Time Markers

5. Imperfect in Colombian Life

6. Common Imperfect Patterns in Speech

Setting the Scene with Imperfect

Key Takeaways

This Week's Practice

Home

Your Learning Path

Your Support

Bogotá

Resources