The imperfect tense (el imperfecto) describes past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or repeated, as well as descriptions of how things used to be. Regular -ar verbs are remarkably easy to conjugate: simply drop the -ar ending and add the imperfect endings.
The endings
The imperfect endings for -ar verbs are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -aban. Notice that the yo and él/ella/usted forms are identical — context usually makes clear who is being referred to.
| Subject | Ending |
|---|---|
| yo | -aba |
| tú | -abas |
| él / ella / usted | -aba |
| nosotros | -ábamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -aban |
Hablar as a model
Take hablar (to speak), drop the -ar, and add the endings to the stem habl-.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | hablaba |
| tú | hablabas |
| él / ella / usted | hablaba |
| nosotros | hablábamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaban |
The written accent
Only the nosotros form carries a written accent: hablábamos. The accent mark is required because the stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable, and without it the word would be mispronounced. All other forms of regular -ar imperfect verbs have no written accent.
More common -ar verbs
The imperfect is especially common with verbs of routine — studying, working, walking, playing. Here are a few you will see often:
| Infinitive | yo form |
|---|---|
| estudiar | estudiaba |
| trabajar | trabajaba |
| caminar | caminaba |
| jugar | jugaba |
| cantar | cantaba |
Mi hermana estudiaba música todos los sábados.
My sister used to study music every Saturday.
Trabajábamos en la misma oficina durante los años noventa.
We worked in the same office during the nineties.
Los niños jugaban en el parque hasta muy tarde.
The children would play in the park until very late.
No stem changes in the imperfect
Unlike the present tense, the imperfect has no stem changes. A verb like jugar (which becomes juego in the present) goes back to its regular stem: jugaba, jugabas, jugaba, jugábamos, jugaban. This is true for every regular -ar verb in the language.
Antes, yo cantaba en un coro de la iglesia.
Before, I used to sing in a church choir.
Common mistakes
❌ Yo hablaba, tú hablaba, ella hablaba.
Wrong: tú uses -abas, not -aba.
✅ Yo hablaba, tú hablabas, ella hablaba.
Correct: only yo and él/ella share -aba.
❌ Nosotros hablabamos en español.
Wrong: missing the accent on the nosotros form.
✅ Nosotros hablábamos en español.
Correct: hablábamos — the accent is required.
❌ De niño, yo juegaba en el parque.
Wrong: there are no stem changes in the imperfect.
✅ De niño, yo jugaba en el parque.
Correct: jugaba — the imperfect uses the plain infinitive stem.
Once you are comfortable with -ar imperfects, move on to regular -er and -ir verbs, which share a single set of endings of their own. Then explore the habitual usage that makes the imperfect so distinctive.
Related Topics
- Regular -er and -ir VerbsA2 — Forming the imperfect tense of regular -er and -ir verbs, which share a single set of endings.
- Usage: Habitual ActionsA2 — Using the imperfect tense to describe habitual, repeated actions in the past — the equivalent of English 'used to do' and 'would do'.
- Usage: Descriptions and BackgroundB1 — Using the imperfect to describe people, places, emotions, and weather — setting the scene in past narration.