The imperfect tense for -ar verbs
In Spanish, the pretérito imperfecto (imperfect tense) is used to talk about the past in a different way than the preterite. While the preterite focuses on completed events, the imperfect describes ongoing past actions ("was doing") and past habits ("used to do").
To form the imperfect of regular -ar verbs, drop the -ar ending and add the -aba endings.
| Pronoun | jugar | caminar |
|---|---|---|
| yo | jugaba | caminaba |
| tú | jugabas | caminabas |
| él/ella/usted | jugaba | caminaba |
| nosotros/nosotras | jugábamos | caminábamos |
| vosotros/vosotras | jugabais | caminabais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | jugaban | caminaban |
Notice two important details about these endings: the yo and él/ella/usted forms are exactly the same, so you will often rely on context or pronouns to know who is acting. Also, the nosotros/nosotras form always has an accent mark over the first a (-ábamos).
Past habits: "used to"
The imperfect tense is exactly what you need to reminisce about childhood or talk about things you used to do regularly. To set the scene, you will frequently pair the imperfect with time markers like antes (before), siempre (always), or a veces (sometimes).
| Before, I always used to play in the street. | Antes siempre jugaba en la calle. |
| Before, we used to ride a bike a lot. | Antes montábamos mucho en bicicleta. |
| Did you guys use to walk around the neighborhood? | ¿Caminabais por el barrio? |
| Sometimes she used to buy bread in the store. | A veces ella compraba pan en la tienda. |
Ongoing past actions: "was doing"
You also use the imperfect to describe the setting or background of a story, indicating what someone "was doing" at a certain time.
| I was looking for the toy in the closet. | Buscaba el juguete en el armario. |
| What were you drawing in the notebook? | ¿Qué dibujabas en el cuaderno? |
| The boy was shouting in the courtyard with the ball. | El niño gritaba en el patio con la pelota. |