Ser in the Imperfect | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

The imperfect is the most forgiving tense in Spanish: nearly every verb is regular. But there are three exceptions — ser, ir, and ver — and ser is one of the most important, since it anchors descriptions of people, places, and situations in the past.

Conjugation of ser

The forms of ser in the imperfect are era, eras, era, éramos, eran. Note the accent on éramos, which is the only written accent in the paradigm.

Subject	Form
yo	era
tú	eras
él / ella / usted	era
nosotros	éramos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	eran

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The yo and él/ella/usted forms are both era. Context always disambiguates: yo era médico versus mi papá era médico.

One of three irregular imperfects

Spanish has only three truly irregular verbs in the imperfect: ser, ir, and ver. Every other verb — including famously tricky ones like tener, decir, or hacer — follows the regular -aba or -ía patterns. Memorize these three and you are essentially done with irregulars.

Identity and profession

Since ser is used for identity, nationality, and profession, its imperfect form describes who or what someone used to be.

Mi tía era enfermera en un hospital de Lima.

My aunt was a nurse at a hospital in Lima.

Cuando era joven, era muy tímido.

When I was young, I was very shy.

Description of people and things

Ser also describes inherent characteristics — appearance, personality, size, color. In the imperfect, these descriptions set the scene for a past story.

La casa era grande y tenía un jardín lleno de flores.

The house was big and had a garden full of flowers.

Mis profesores eran muy estrictos pero justos.

My teachers were very strict but fair.

Telling time in the past

One essential use: ser tells the time, and in the past that always calls for the imperfect. Never use the preterite (fue) for a clock time.

Eran las tres de la tarde cuando llegamos al aeropuerto.

It was three in the afternoon when we arrived at the airport.

Era muy tarde y ya nadie contestaba el teléfono.

It was very late and nobody was answering the phone anymore.

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Time of day in the past is always imperfect: era la una, eran las ocho. Using fue here would sound like you are reporting an event, not describing a moment.

Ser versus fue

Beginners sometimes wonder whether to use era (imperfect) or fue (preterite). Rule of thumb: era describes how things were over a stretch of time; fue treats something as a finished event or a summary judgment.

Imperfect (era)	Preterite (fue)
Era una tarde tranquila.	Fue una tarde maravillosa.
Era de día.	Fue un día importante.
Mi abuelo era alto.	Mi abuelo fue presidente.
La fiesta era divertida.	La fiesta fue ayer.
Eran las seis.	Fue a las seis.

Cuando éramos niños, éramos inseparables.

When we were children, we were inseparable.

Describing roles and relationships

Another frequent use of era is to describe what role someone played or what relationship they had to others over a stretch of time. This often comes up when reminiscing about school years, early jobs, or childhood friendships.

The tense invites the listener to picture a shared past rather than a single moment.

En aquellos años, era mi mejor amiga y vivíamos a dos calles de distancia.

In those years, she was my best friend and we lived two streets apart.

Common mistakes

❌ Fueron las tres de la tarde cuando llegamos.

Wrong: telling time in the past always uses the imperfect.

✅ Eran las tres de la tarde cuando llegamos.

Correct: eran (imperfect) for clock time in the past.

❌ Ella fue enfermera por veinte años.

Wrong if describing a lasting state — use the imperfect.

✅ Ella era enfermera durante veinte años.

Correct: era (imperfect) for an ongoing profession.

❌ Cuando yo soy niño, jugaba en el parque.

Wrong: mixing present tense ser with past tense imperfect.

✅ Cuando yo era niño, jugaba en el parque.

Correct: era (imperfect) to describe a past period.

Next, look at the second irregular: ir in the imperfect. For more on ser versus the preterite, see descriptions and background.