The Spanish Imperfect (
In this article, we are going to learn the most popular uses of the Spanish Imperfect tense.
Uses of the Spanish Imperfect
Habitual Past Actions
You should use the Spanish Imperfect to describe habits and repeated or lasting actions in the past. These are the actions you used to do.
A veces tú llegabas tarde a mi clase de español.
You sometimes arrived late to my Spanish class.
Yo nunca quería jugar con mi hermano pequeño.
I never wanted to play with my little brother.
Mis amigos se despertaban a las siete y media.
My children used to get up at half past seven.
Todos los días mi padre venía al trabajo en tren.
Every day my father used to come to work by train.
Adverbs of frequency such as
Remember that you describe habitual actions in the present with the Spanish Present. However, if you describe habitual past actions, you should use the Spanish Imperfect.
Past Descriptions
You can also use Imperfect to make descriptions in the past. For example, you can use this tense to describe what the weather was like or to say what things used to be like.
Hacía mucho calor y, por eso, me quedé en casa.
It was very hot and, that’s why, I stayed at home.
Mi abuela María tenía el pelo largo y rizado.
My grandmother María had curly long hair.
En la escuela, yo no era buena estudiante.
At school, I was not a good student.
Ayer por la tarde mis hijos estaban cansados.
Yesterday afternoon my children looked tired.
Courtesy
The previous two uses of the Spanish Imperfect describe the past. Now let’s see a very popular use of the Imperfect in everyday conversations and that is to show courtesy or politeness at the moment of speaking. This use does not refer to a past moment, but to the present time.
Buenos días. Mi nombre es Isabel. ¿Qué deseaba?
Good morning. My name is Isabel. What would you like?
Quería un bocadillo de jamón y otro de queso, por favor.
I’d like a ham sandwich and a cheese sandwich, please.
Buscaba unos pantalones amarillos de la talla 40.
I was looking for some yellow pants of size 40.
Buenas tardes, necesitaba un diccionario de francés.
Good afternoon, I need a French dictionary.
Preterite vs. Imperfect
It is very common to use the Spanish Imperfect together with the Preterite. When they appear together, the Preterite refers to an action that started and was finished in the past whereas the Imperfect refers to actions that were in progress in the past.
Empezó a llover cuando estaba en el centro comercial.
It started to rain when I was at the shopping center.
Tu marido te llamó a las tres cuando salías del trabajo.
Your husband called you at three when you were leaving work.
The Spanish Imperfect tense can be translated with the Past Continuous, especially when you want to emphasize that the action was still in progress when something else happened.
Exercises
Let’s practice the uses of the Spanish Imperfect with these exercises.