Have you noticed that the first-person and third-person singular are identical? This is how easy this past tense is. Let’s see what it looks like in a chart with the verb jugar (to play). To conjugate -ar verbs in the imperfect tense, simply remove the infinitive ending -ar and add the imperfect – aba ending. I told you this was an easy tense to master! -AR Verbs in the Imperfect Tense Yes, there’s one conjugation for – ar verbs and another for – er and – ir verbs. Imperfect Conjugation – Regular Verbsĭo you remember the three conjugations in the present tense: – ar, – er, and -ir? The great news is that for the imperfect tense you only need two learn two sets for regular verbs! Let’s take a look at the conjugation for the imperfect tense to give you more tools to understand the examples later on. I was going to school when I lost my keys. Iba a la escuela cuando perdí las llaves. You can use the past simple, past continuous, or the expressions “used to” and “would.”
You’ll see later that you can translate the imperfect tense in Spanish in different ways into English. Sometimes, people call it a “historic” tense, as the actions described in the imperfect tense have no connections to the present. In short, you use the Spanish imperfect tense to talk about past habitual actions or about what someone was doing when they got interrupted by something else.
Keep reading, and I’ll show you how to dominate the Spanish imperfect tense! How to Use the Imperfect Tense In this article, you’ll see when to use it, how to form it, and learn all three (there are only three!) irregular imperfect verbs.Īt the end of the lesson, you’ll be able to check how much you’ve learned in a short multiple-choice quiz. Let me show you today how straightforward the imperfect tense is and how quickly you can master it. Frankly speaking, it’s so trouble-free that students tend to overuse it, as they find other Spanish past tenses more challenging to conjugate. It’s actually one of the easiest Spanish tenses to use, as it has few irregularities.
Have you ever wondered if the Spanish imperfect tense is easy to learn? Februby Olga Put Spanish Grammar 2 comments Spanish Imperfect Past Tense Grammar Guide