El Imperfecto

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El Imperfecto = Used to

Different Ending for -AR and -ER/-IR verbs.

For negative sentences add ¨no¨ before the conjugated verb.

For Regular -AR Verbs

Ingredients:

Drop off the -AR ending of verb + aba

abas

aba

ábamos

abais

aban

Example:

Hablar = to talk

Hablaba = I used to talk

Hablabas = You (singular, informal) used to talk

Hablaba = He/she/it/you (singular, formal) used to talk

Hablábamos = We used to talk

Hablabais = You (plural, informal) used to talk

Hablaban = They/you (plural, formal) used to talk

For Regular -ER/-IR Verbs

Ingredients:

Drop off the -ER/-IR ending of verb + ía

ías

ía

íamos

íais

ían

Example:

Vivir = to live

Vivía = I used to live

Vivías = You (singular, informal) used to live

Vivía = He/she/it/you (singular, formal) used to live

Vivíamos = We used to live

Vivíais = You (plural, informal) used to live

Vivían = They/you (plural, formal) used to live

WHEN DO I USE THIS TENSE?

to refer to actions in the past that occurred repeatedly

to refer to actions in the past that occurred over an extended period of time

to "set the stage" for an event that occurred in the past

actions which are not physical, that is feelings and mental actions, usually use the imperfect tense (e.g. he was feeling sick).

frequently associated with phrases that describe the frequency of past actions (e.g. often, sometimes, never, usually, etc.).

(source: http://www.studyspanish.com/verbs/lessons/impreg.htm)

Irregular Verbs

There are only three irregular verbs in this tense.

Their entire form changes.

Ser = to be

era

eras

era

éramos

erais

eran

Ver = to watch

veía

veías

veía

veíamos

veíais

veían

Ir = to go

iba

ibas

iba

íbamos

ibais

iban

Regular -AR Verbs

Regular -ER/-IR Verbs

Irregular Verbs