The Spanish Imperfect (
Irregular Verbs in Spanish Imperfect Tense
The Spanish Imperfect is used to express habits or routines in the past, to make descriptions in the past or to express politeness at the moment of speaking. Their forms are mainly regular for all verbs. However, there are 3 irregular verbs that you need to study by heart. These are the verbs
Ser in Imperfect
These are the forms of the verb
| Ser |
| Era Eras Era Éramos Erais Eran |
Yo era una niña muy callada. Ahora hablo mucho.
I used to be a very quiet girl. Now I talk a lot.
Tú eras alto y guapo. Tenías el pelo largo.
You used to be tall and handsome. You used to have long hair.
Él era científico y ella era escritora. Vivían en Polonia.
He was a scientist and she was a writer. They lived in Poland.
Nosotros éramos jóvenes cuando pasó aquello.
We were young when that happened.
Isabel y tú erais responsables y todo salió bien.
Isabel and you were responsible and everything went well
¿Conociste a María y Pilar? Ellas eran gente humilde y buena.
Did you meet María and Pilar? They were modest and good people.
Ir in Imperfect
The verb
| Ir |
| Iba Ibas Iba Íbamos Ibais Iban |
Yo iba a la escuela en el autobús escolar todos los días.
I used to go to school on the school bus every day.
Cuando tú vivías en Londres, ibas a todas partes en autobús.
When you used to live in London, you went everywhere by bus.
Él iba a clase de guitarra después del trabajo.
He used to go to guitar classes after work.
El año pasado nosotros íbamos a la discoteca todos los jueves.
Last year, we used to go to the club every Thursday.
Vosotros decíais que ibais a casa, pero ibais al bar.
You used to say you went home, but you went to the bar instead.
Los grupos de rock iban de festival en festival.
The rock bands used to go from one festival to the next.
Ver in Imperfect
| Ver |
| Veía Veías Veía Veíamos Veíais Veían |
Yo no veía a mi familia todos los días, solo los viernes.
I didn’t use to see my family every day, only on Fridays.
Tú veías dibujos animados con tus hermanos.
You used to watch cartoons with your brothers.
Ella veía a sus padres todos los domingos después de comer.
She used to see her parents every Sunday after lunch.
Nosotros veíamos a nuestros primos solo dos veces al año.
We only used to see our cousins twice a year.
Vosotros veíais un paisaje maravilloso desde vuestra casa.
You used to see a wonderful landscape from your house.
Los vecinos veían a Pilar y Antonio con muchas bolsas.
The neighbors used to see Pilar and Antonio with lots of bags.
Exercises
You can practice these irregular verbs in Spanish Imperfect with these exercises.