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Explore the pretérito imperfecto of regular verbs in Spanish, focusing on endings like -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban with verbs such as ayudar (to help). Practice phrases like "Yo ayudaba en la ambulancia" to describe ongoing past actions.
  1. For verbs ending in "-ar" the endings "-aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban" are added.
  2. For verbs ending in -er/-ir the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían are added.

 

Persona (Person)Verbo (Verb) 'ayudar'Ejemplo (Example)
YoAyudabaYo ayudaba en la ambulancia.
TúAyudabas¿Tú ayudabas en la Cruz Roja?
Él/EllaAyudabaLa paramédica ayudaba mucho.

Nosotros

Nosotras

AyudábamosNosotros ayudábamos en emergencias.

Vosotros

Vosotras

Ayudabais¿Vosotros ayudabais la gente con el Seguro Social?

Ellos

Ellas

AyudabanEllos ayudaban a los pacientes.

 

Exceptions!

  1. The first and third person singular are the same.

Exercise 1: El pretérito imperfecto de verbos regulares

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

atendían, ayudaban, visitaban, miraba, llamaba, escuchabais, usabas, trabajábamos

1. Mirar:
Ella ... la sala de urgencias desde la ventana.
(She was watching the emergency room from the window.)
2. Usar:
¿Tú ... el teléfono de emergencia frecuentemente?
(Did you use the emergency phone frequently?)
3. Visitar:
Ustedes ... la clínica todos los lunes.
(You used to visit the clinic every Monday.)
4. Atender:
Los médicos ... a muchos pacientes cada día.
(The doctors used to see many patients every day.)
5. Ayudar:
Ellos ... en las campañas de protección civil.
(They used to help in the civil protection campaigns.)
6. Llamar:
Mi hermana ... a los bomberos cada vez que veía humo.
(My sister used to call the fire brigade every time she saw smoke.)
7. Trabajar:
Nosotros ... con la Cruz Roja todos los veranos.
(We used to work with the Red Cross every summer.)
8. Escuchar:
Vosotros ... las instrucciones del socorro.
(You were listening to the rescue instructions.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence that uses the imperfect tense of regular and irregular verbs appropriately, related to emergency services.

1.
The accent is missing in 'ayudábamos', which is necessary in the first person plural of the imperfect tense.
Error: 'ayudaron' is simple past; here the imperfect is sought for habitual or ongoing actions.
2.
The accent is missing in 'veías', necessary in second person singular imperfect of the verb 'ver'.
'Veiste' is incorrect; the simple past of 'ver' is 'viste', but for imperfect it is 'veías'.
3.
The accent in 'Íban' is incorrect; 'iban' does not carry an accent in imperfect tense.
The form 'ibaban' is incorrect; it must be 'iban' for third person plural of ir in imperfect.
4.
'Ayudaste' is simple past for second person singular, it does not match the subject 'he'.
'Ayudabas' is second person singular, while the subject 'he' requires 'ayudaba' third person singular.

The Imperfect Past Tense of Regular Verbs in Spanish

This lesson focuses on the pretérito imperfecto (imperfect past tense) and how to conjugate regular verbs in Spanish. The imperfect tense is used to talk about past actions without a specified beginning or end, often expressing ongoing or habitual activities in the past.

Conjugation of Regular "-ar" Verbs

For verbs ending in -ar, you add the following endings to the stem:

  • -aba
  • -abas
  • -aba
  • -ábamos (note the accent)
  • -abais
  • -aban

Example using ayudar (to help):

PersonVerb FormExample Sentence
YoAyudabaYo ayudaba en la ambulancia.
TúAyudabas¿Tú ayudabas en la Cruz Roja?
Él/EllaAyudabaLa paramédica ayudaba mucho.
Nosotros/NosotrasAyudábamosNosotros ayudábamos en emergencias.
Vosotros/VosotrasAyudabais¿Vosotros ayudabais a la gente con el Seguro Social?
Ellos/EllasAyudabanEllos ayudaban a los pacientes.

Conjugation of Regular "-er" and "-ir" Verbs

For verbs ending in -er or -ir, add these endings:

  • -ía
  • -ías
  • -ía
  • -íamos
  • -íais
  • -ían

Important Characteristics

  • The first and third person singular forms are the same.
  • Accents are important, e.g., ayudábamos vs ayudabamos.
  • The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions rather than completed actions.

Useful Words and Phrases Related to Emergency Services

  • Ayudar – to help
  • Emergencias – emergencies
  • Ambulancia – ambulance
  • Paramédico/Paramédica – paramedic (male/female)
  • Heridos – injured (people)
  • Cruz Roja – Red Cross
  • Seguro Social – Social Security
  • Pacientes – patients

Note on Differences Between English and Spanish

Unlike English, which often uses the past simple tense for most past actions, Spanish distinguishes continuing or repeated past actions using the imperfect tense. For example, "I helped" (one-time action) is ayudé (preterite), but "I used to help" or "I was helping" translates to ayudaba (imperfect). This distinction is essential for accurate expression.

In English, continuous past activities are expressed with phrases like "was helping" or "used to help," while Spanish uses specific verb forms. Understanding this helps learners grasp when to use the imperfect instead of the preterite.

Practical Expressions

  • Yo ayudaba en la ambulancia. – I was helping in the ambulance / I used to help in the ambulance.
  • Tú veías las ambulancias cada día. – You used to see the ambulances every day.
  • Ellos iban al hospital todas las tardes. – They went to the hospital every afternoon (habitual action).

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