Imperfect Tense in Spanish

Overview

This lecture reviews the imperfect tense for ER and IR verbs in Spanish, including conjugation patterns, meanings, and translation exercises.

Review of AR Verbs in the Imperfect

• Example with bailar (to dance): yo bailaba, tú bailabas, él/ella/usted bailaba, nosotros/as bailábamos, ellos/ellas/ustedes bailaban.
• The yo, él, ella, and usted forms are the same.

Imperfect for ER Verbs

• Example with comer (to eat): yo comía, tú comías, él/ella/usted comía, nosotros/as comíamos, ellos/ellas/ustedes comían.
• The imperfect tense expresses actions that were ongoing, habitual, or used to happen in the past.

Imperfect for Other ER Verbs

• Example with tener (to have): yo tenía, tú tenías, él/ella/usted tenía, nosotros/as teníamos, ellos/ellas/ustedes tenían.
• Example: Yo tenía un oso de peluche. (I used to have a teddy bear.)

Imperfect for IR Verbs

• Example with dormir (to sleep): yo dormía, tú dormías, él/ella/usted dormía, nosotros/as dormíamos, ellos/ellas/ustedes dormían.
• No stem changes in the imperfect tense for IR verbs.
• Reflexive form: dormirse (to fall asleep) follows the same pattern: yo me dormía, tú te dormías, etc.

Translation Practice (Spanish to English)

• Yo comía: I used to eat / I was eating.
• Ellos tenían: They used to have / They were having.
• Nosotros queríamos: We used to want / We were wanting.
• Él pedía: He used to ask for / He was asking for.
• Tú comprendías: You used to understand / You were understanding.
• Nosotros vivíamos: We used to live / We were living.
• Yo aprendía: I used to learn / I was learning.
• Ellas decían: They (females) used to say or tell / They were saying or telling.
• Ella prefería: She used to prefer / She was preferring.

English to Spanish Translation Practice

• We used to eat in the restaurant: Nosotros comíamos en el restaurante.
• Juan and Diego used to live in Mexico: Juan y Diego vivían en México.
• Did you used to have lots of money?: ¿Tenías mucho dinero?
• Francisco used to tell the truth: Francisco decía la verdad.
• I used to prefer baseball: Yo prefería el baseball.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Imperfect Tense — A Spanish past tense used for habitual, ongoing, or repeated actions in the past.
• ER Verbs — Verbs ending in -er follow a specific imperfect conjugation pattern.
• IR Verbs — Verbs ending in -ir use the same imperfect endings as ER verbs; no stem changes.
• Reflexive Verb — A verb where the action reflects back on the subject (e.g., dormirse = to fall asleep).

Action Items / Next Steps

• Practice imperfect conjugations for ER and IR verbs.
• Translate given sentences between English and Spanish using the imperfect tense.
• Watch for a lesson on the three irregular imperfect verbs.