Spelling and Pronunciation
The Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense is another past tense aspect in Spanish. Only three verbs in the entire language are irregular in the imperfect tense. While it is easy to learn how to create the forms of verbs in the imperfect tense, it is more difficult to understand when to use this tense. Usually, the imperfect tense is translated as “was / were doing” something, or “used to do” something.
There are no spelling changes and no stem changes in the imperfect. The – ar endings found in Table 1 are used for every – ar verb in the entire language. There is not a single – ar verb that is irregular in the imperfect tense. Notice that the yo form is exactly like the él, ella, and usted forms, so it is important to use the pronoun or noun to specify what the subject is in a specific sentence. Also notice that only the nosotros/nosotras form has a written accent mark.
|
Singular Pronoun |
Ending |
Plural Pronoun |
Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
|
yo |
–aba |
nosotros/nosotras |
–ábamos |
|
tú |
–abas |
vosotros/vosotras |
–abais |
|
usted |
–aba |
ustedes |
–aban |
|
él |
–aba |
ellos |
–aban |
|
ella |
–aba |
ellas |
–aban |
A stem-changing verb like pensar (to think) will not have any stem change in the imperfect. As you can see in Table 2, the verb pensar is completely regular in the imperfect tense.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|---|---|
|
yo pensaba (I was thinking, used to think) |
nosotros/nosotras pensábamos (we were thinking, used to think) |
|
tú pensabas (you [informal] were thinking, used to think) |
vosotros/vosotras pensabais (you [informal] were thinking, used to think) |
|
usted pensaba (you [formal] were thinking, used to think) |
ustedes pensaban (you [formal] were thinking, used to think) |
|
él pensaba (he was thinking, used to think) |
ellos pensaban (they were thinking, used to think) |
|
ella pensaba (she was thinking, used to think) |
ellas pensaban (they were thinking, used to think) |
The verb trabajar (to work) looks really strange in the imperfect tense, but it also is a good example that all forms of all – ar verbs are regular in the imperfect tense. Read Table 3 outloud because it's fun to say the imperfect tense forms of the verb trabajar.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|---|---|
|
yo trabajaba (I was working, used to work) |
nosotros/nosotras trabajábamos (we were working, used to work) |
|
tú trabajabas (you [informal] were working, used to work) |
vosotros/vosotras trabajabais (you [informal] were working, used to work) |
|
usted trabajaba you [formal] were working, used to work) |
ustedes trabajaban (you [formal] were working, used to work) |
|
él trabajaba (he was working, used to work) |
ellos trabajaban (they were working, used to work) |
|
ella trabajaba (she was working, used to work) |
ellas trabajaban (they were working, used to work) |
The endings in Table 4 are the regular endings for both – er and – ir verbs. There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect tense: ser, ir, and ver. For every other – er and – ir verb, use the endings in Table 4. Notice that all imperfect tense forms of – er and – ir verbs have a written accent mark on the letter i.
|
Singular Pronoun |
Ending |
Plural Pronoun |
Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
|
yo |
-ía |
nosotros/nosotras |
-íamos |
|
tú |
-ías |
vosotros/vosotras |
-íais |
|
él |
-ía |
ellos |
-ían |
|
ella |
-ía |
ellas |
-ían |
|
usted |
-ía |
ustedes |
-ían |
The – er verbs use the exact same endings in the imperfect tense as the – ir verbs, so look at perder as another good example and notice in Table 5 that perder does not stem change in the imperfect tense.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|---|---|
|
yo perdía (I was losing, used to lose) |
nosotros/nosotras perdíamos (we were losing, used to lose) |
|
tú perdías (you [informal] were losing, used to lose) |
vosotros/vosotras perdíais (you [informal] were losing, used to lose) |
|
usted perdía (you [formal] were losing, used to lose) |
ustedes perdían (you [formal] were losing, used to lose) |
|
él perdía (he was losing, used to lose) |
ellos perdían (they were losing, used to lose) |
|
ella perdía (she was losing, used to lose) |
ellas perdían (they were losing, used to lose) |
A regular verb like vivir (to live) conjugated in Table 6 serves as a good example of an – ir verb in the imperfect tense.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|---|---|
|
yo vivía (I was living, used to live) |
nosotros/nosotras vivíamos (we were living, used to live) |
|
tú vivías (you [informal] were living, used to live) |
vosotros/vosotras vivíamos (we were living, used to live) |
|
usted vivía (you [formal] were living, used to live) |
ustedes vivían (you [formal] were living, used to live) |
|
él vivía (he was living, used to live) |
ellos vivían (they were living, used to live) |
|
ella vivía (she was living, used to live) |
ellas vivían (they were living, used to live) |
The verb sentir (to feel, to regret) is a stem changer in the present tense, but Table 7 will remind you that no verbs stem change in the imperfect tense.
|
Singular |
Plural |
|---|---|
|
yo sentía (I was feeling, used to feel) |
nosotros/nosotras sentíamos (we were feeling, used to feel) |
|
tú sentías (you [informal] were feeling, used to feel) |
vosotros/vosotras sentíais (you [informal] were feeling, used to feel) |
|
usted sentía (you [formal] were feeling, used to feel) |
ustedes sentían (you [formal] were feeling, used to feel) |
|
él sentía (he was feeling, used to feel) |
ellos sentían (they were feeling, used to feel) |
|
ella sentía (she was feeling, used to feel) |
ellas sentían (they were feeling, used to feel) |
