Imperfect tense - uses

Pretérito imperfecto - usos

El pretérito imperfecto se usa para describir acciones y hábitos del pasado.

(The pretérito imperfecto is used to describe past actions and habits.)

Teacher explanation

What the imperfect is really for (the “background” past)

Use pretérito imperfecto when you talk about the past as an ongoing context, not as a finished event.

In progress: you don’t focus on the start/end.
Habitual: repeated routines in the past.
“Was going to …”: an intention in progress that may be interrupted.
Courtesy: softer, more professional requests.

Imperfect vs. preterite: the decision in 10 seconds

Imperfecto	Pretérito (simple)
Background, context, “what was going on”	Main event, “what happened”
Ongoing / repeated / not clearly finished	Finished / completed / counted events
Mientras esperaba, la administrativa me explicaba…	La administrativa me explicó… (one completed explanation)
De niño estudiaba… (habit)	Estudié… (a specific completed time period)

Typical “signal words” (useful, not magic)

Imperfect-friendly: siempre, a menudo, antes, de niño/de pequeña, mientras, todos los días.
Preterite-friendly: ayer, una vez, de repente, esa mañana, en 2019 (especially if you mean a completed period).

Important: these words don’t “force” a tense. The meaning (background vs. completed event) does.

The classic pattern: “When X happened, Y was happening”

This is one of the most common B1 uses:

Interrupting event (finished) → preterite
Action in progress (background) → imperfect

Preterite	Imperfect
Cuando llegué…	…hablaban con la administración.
Cuando cerraron la oficina…	…yo iba a solicitar plaza.

Think: “Snapshot” (preterite) vs. “video” (imperfect).

“Iba a + infinitive”: the imperfect for intentions

Ir (imperfect) + a + infinitive = was going to.

Iba a solicitar plaza, pero cerraron la oficina.
Meaning: the intention was in progress, but something stopped it.

Do not confuse with movement:

~~Iba a la oficina solicitar plaza.~~ (wrong word order/meaning)
Correct: Iba a la oficina (I was going to the office) vs. Iba a solicitar plaza (I was going to apply).

Imperfect of courtesy: professional and soft

In emails, offices, and formal conversations, Spanish often softens requests with imperfect forms.

More direct	More polite (imperfect)
Quiero información.	Querría información.
¿Me das…?	¿Me daba…? / ¿Me podía…? (common in service contexts)

Tip: This is not “past time” in meaning. It’s a politeness strategy.

Formation: the part students usually mix up

Imperfect is very regular. Focus on the endings.

-ar verbs	-er / -ir verbs
-aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban	-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían
hablar → hablaba, hablábamos	devolver → devolvía, devolvíamos

Common error: ~~devolvaban~~ → devolvían (because it’s -er).
Accent check: nosotros = -ábamos / -íamos always has an accent.

The only key irregulars (learn them as a set)

Only three core verbs are irregular in the imperfect:

ser → era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
ir → iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
ver → veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían

Self-check: choose imperfect if you can say one of these in English

“was/were + -ing”: “They were talking…” → Hablaban…
“used to”: “I used to study…” → Estudiaba…
“was going to”: “I was going to apply…” → Iba a solicitar…
polite request: “I would like…” → Querría…

If instead you naturally say “then it happened / it finished”, you probably need the preterite.

Verbos en -ar ⇒ raíz + -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, - aban (ganar ⇒ ganaba)
Verbos en -er / -ir ⇒ raíz + -ía, -ías, -ía, íamos, -íais, -ían (devolver ⇒ devolvía)

Uso	Ejemplo
Acción pasada en progreso (sin fin definido) (Past action in progress (with no defined end))	Charlaban durante horas en la secretaría. (They chatted for hours in the school office.)
Hábito repetido en el pasado (Habit repeated in the past)	De niño estudiaba en un colegio público. (As a child, I studied at a public school.)
Acción que iba a ocurrir (Action that was going to happen)	Iba a solicitar plaza cuando cerraron la oficina. (I was going to apply for a place when they closed the office.)
Acción en desarrollo (Action in progress)	Cuando llegué al campus, hablaban con la administración. (When I arrived on campus, they were talking with the administration.)
Imperfecto de cortesía (Polite imperfect)	Querría información sobre la matrícula. (I would like information about enrollment/registration.)

Exceptions!

Verbos irregulares: ser ⇒ era, ir ⇒ iba, ver ⇒ veía

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

1. Mientras esperaba en la secretaría, la administrativa me ________ cómo funcionaba la lista de espera.

2. Cuando vivíamos en Madrid, mi hija ________ a un colegio público y siempre volvía contenta de clase.

3. ________ solicitar plaza en el colegio concertado, pero cerraron la oficina antes de que llegara.

4. Buenas tardes, ________ información sobre la matrícula para educación secundaria.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences in the imperfect tense (description, habit, action in progress or politeness), conjugating the verb in parentheses.

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints

Cuando yo era pequeño, (estudiar) en un colegio público.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Cuando yo era pequeño, estudiaba en un colegio público.
(When I was little, I used to study at a public school.)
Ayer a las ocho, nosotros (hablar) con la administración en la secretaría.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Ayer a las ocho, nosotros hablábamos con la administración en la secretaría.
(Yesterday at eight, we were talking with the administration in the secretary’s office.)
Cuando llegué al campus, ellos (revisar) los documentos.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Cuando llegué al campus, ellos revisaban los documentos.
(When I arrived on campus, they were reviewing the documents.)
Yo (ir) a solicitar la plaza, pero la oficina cerró antes de tiempo.

⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
Yo iba a solicitar la plaza, pero la oficina cerró antes de tiempo.
(I was going to apply for the spot, but the office closed early.)

Exercise 3: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence in the imperfect past tense.