Cuando era niño, jugaba en el parque.
English: When I was a child, I used to play in the park.
- Language
- Spanish
- Level
- B1
- Unit
- Tiempos pasados
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
The 'pretérito imperfecto' is a past tense in Spanish. It describes actions or situations that happened regularly or over a period of time in the past.
When to use it
Use the 'pretérito imperfecto' to talk about repeated or habitual actions in the past, to describe situations or people in the past, or to give background information in a story.
Key forms
- For -ar verbs: yo hablaba, tú hablabas, él/ella hablaba, nosotros hablábamos, vosotros hablabais, ellos/ellas hablaban
- For -er/-ir verbs: yo comía, tú comías, él/ella comía, nosotros comíamos, vosotros comíais, ellos/ellas comían
Examples
Mi abuela siempre cocinaba los domingos.
English: My grandmother always cooked on Sundays.
Antes, vivíamos en Madrid.
English: Before, we lived in Madrid.
Los estudiantes leían libros cada semana.
English: The students read books every week.
Tips
- The 'pretérito imperfecto' is not used for actions that happened only once or had a clear beginning and end.
- Look for words like 'siempre', 'a menudo', 'cada día', which often indicate the use of imperfecto.
- Be careful not to confuse the 'pretérito imperfecto' with the 'pretérito perfecto simple', which is used for completed actions.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs are irregular: ser (era), ir (iba), ver (veía).