Spanish Imperfect Tense: Uses, Endings and Examples

What the imperfect tense expresses

Past habits

Use the imperfect for what someone used to do: Jugaba afuera means "I used to play outside."

Descriptions and background

Use it to describe scenes and background information: La casa era grande.

Age, time and weather

Spanish uses the imperfect for age, time and weather in the past: Tenía diez años, eran las ocho, llovía.

Ongoing past actions

Use it for an action in progress in the past: Estudiaba cuando llamaste.

Regular imperfect endings

The three irregular imperfect verbs

Imperfect tense examples in context

• Cuando era niño, leía mucho. When I was a child, I used to read a lot.
• Hacía frío y todos estábamos en casa. It was cold and we were all at home.
• Mi abuela cocinaba los domingos. My grandmother used to cook on Sundays.

Preterite vs imperfect

Use the imperfect for habits and background. Use the preterite for completed events. For full practice, study preterite vs imperfect practice.

Common imperfect tense mistakes

• Using -aba with -ER or -IR verbs: write comía, not comaba.
• Writing veia instead of veía.
• Confusing iba and fui.
• Confusing era and estaba.
• Using preterite for repeated habits.
• Using imperfect for clearly finished events.

Practice the Spanish imperfect

1. yo / hablar: ______
2. tú / comer: ______
3. ella / vivir: ______
4. nosotros / ser: ______
5. ellos / ir: ______
6. yo / ver: ______
7. ella / estar: ______
8. nosotros / jugar: ______