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Table of Contents
1. The Imperfect Tense (Imperfect Preterite)
2. The Conjugation of the Imperfect Preterite
3. Examples of Imperfect Tense
4. Modalities of Imperfect Tense

The Imperfect Tense (Imperfect Preterite)

The imperfect preterite, usually known as copreterite in Spanish, has the function of making known facts from past events but with this case it can be observed that a specific beginning and end is not achieved in the midst of this use.

A Camila le gustaba bailar. Camila liked to dance.
Simón entrenaba a su perro los jueves y los sábados. Simon trained his dog on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Su jefe discutía constantemente. His boss argued constantly.
Mientras jugaba con su pelota, se lesionó la rodilla. While playing with his ball, he injured his knee.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (He/she was breaking) Dormía (He was sleeping)
Solíamos almorzar juntos todos los días. We used to have lunch together every day.
Cenábamos a las 7:30pm cada día. We had dinner at 7:30pm every day.
Iba al consultorio cuando sonó el teléfono. I would go to the office when the phone rang.
Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegué a la casa. My grandmother was cooking when I got home.
En ocasiones le faltaba el aire y la vista se le nublaba. Sometimes she would be short of breath and her eyesight would be blurred.
Eran las cuatro de la mañana. It was four o'clock in the morning.
El 9 de mayo fue el fatídico día. May 9 was the fateful day.
El chico tenía 12 años. The boy was 12 years old.
Mi abuelo era alegre y tenía una sonrisa pacífica. My grandfather was cheerful and had a peaceful smile.
Su profesor era delgado y tenía el cabello crespo. His teacher was thin and had frizzy hair.
La casa era acogedora. The house was cozy.
Hacía frió esa tarde. It was cold that afternoon.
Deseaba mudarme a un país lejano. I wanted to move to a faraway country.

The Conjugation of the Imperfect Preterite

The conjugation of the imperfect preterite or copreterite is achieved by eliminating the endings -er, -ir from the verbs and adding in their place -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían, as these endings -ar are replaced by -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. Let's see the following table.

	Soñar (dream)	Romper (Break)	Dormir (Sleep)
Yo	Soñaba (I was dreaming)	Rompía (I was breaking)	Dormía (I was sleeping)
Tú	Soñabas (You were dreaming)	Rompías (You were braking)	Dormías (You were sleeping)
Él/Ella	Soñaba (He/she was dreaming)	Rompía (He/she was breaking)	Dormía (He was sleeping)
Nosotros	Soñábamos (We were dreaming)	Rompíamos (We were breaking)	Dormíamos (We were sleeping)
Vosotros	Soñabais (You were dreaming)	Rompíais (You were breaking)	Dormíais (You were sleeping)
Ellos/Ellas	Soñaron (They were dreaming)	Rompían (They were breaking)	Dormían (They were sleeping)

A Camila le gustaba bailar. Camila liked to dance.
Simón entrenaba a su perro los jueves y los sábados. Simon trained his dog on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Su jefe discutía constantemente. His boss argued constantly.
Mientras jugaba con su pelota, se lesionó la rodilla. While playing with his ball, he injured his knee.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (He/she was breaking) Dormía (He was sleeping)
Solíamos almorzar juntos todos los días. We used to have lunch together every day.
Cenábamos a las 7:30pm cada día. We had dinner at 7:30pm every day.
Iba al consultorio cuando sonó el teléfono. I would go to the office when the phone rang.
Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegué a la casa. My grandmother was cooking when I got home.
En ocasiones le faltaba el aire y la vista se le nublaba. Sometimes she would be short of breath and her eyesight would be blurred.
Eran las cuatro de la mañana. It was four o'clock in the morning.
El 9 de mayo fue el fatídico día. May 9 was the fateful day.
El chico tenía 12 años. The boy was 12 years old.
Mi abuelo era alegre y tenía una sonrisa pacífica. My grandfather was cheerful and had a peaceful smile.
Su profesor era delgado y tenía el cabello crespo. His teacher was thin and had frizzy hair.
La casa era acogedora. The house was cozy.
Hacía frió esa tarde. It was cold that afternoon.
Deseaba mudarme a un país lejano. I wanted to move to a faraway country.

Examples of Imperfect Tense

A Camila le gustaba bailar. Camila liked to dance.
Simón entrenaba a su perro los jueves y los sábados. Simon trained his dog on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Su jefe discutía constantemente. His boss argued constantly.
Mientras jugaba con su pelota, se lesionó la rodilla. While playing with his ball, he injured his knee.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (He/she was breaking) Dormía (He was sleeping)
Solíamos almorzar juntos todos los días. We used to have lunch together every day.
Cenábamos a las 7:30pm cada día. We had dinner at 7:30pm every day.
Iba al consultorio cuando sonó el teléfono. I would go to the office when the phone rang.
Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegué a la casa. My grandmother was cooking when I got home.
En ocasiones le faltaba el aire y la vista se le nublaba. Sometimes she would be short of breath and her eyesight would be blurred.
Eran las cuatro de la mañana. It was four o'clock in the morning.
El 9 de mayo fue el fatídico día. May 9 was the fateful day.
El chico tenía 12 años. The boy was 12 years old.
Mi abuelo era alegre y tenía una sonrisa pacífica. My grandfather was cheerful and had a peaceful smile.
Su profesor era delgado y tenía el cabello crespo. His teacher was thin and had frizzy hair.
La casa era acogedora. The house was cozy.
Hacía frió esa tarde. It was cold that afternoon.
Deseaba mudarme a un país lejano. I wanted to move to a faraway country.

Modalities of Imperfect Tense

The scenarios in which this verb tense is used are characterized by five modalities or situations in general, these are, for actions that were habitually repeated, actions that were being executed in the past, to define ages that were had long ago, to give out dates and times and finally, to give descriptions, conditions or feelings that were once had.

A Camila le gustaba bailar. Camila liked to dance.
Simón entrenaba a su perro los jueves y los sábados. Simon trained his dog on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Su jefe discutía constantemente. His boss argued constantly.
Mientras jugaba con su pelota, se lesionó la rodilla. While playing with his ball, he injured his knee.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)
Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)
Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.
Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.
Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.
Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.
Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.
Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.
La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.
Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.
Rompía (He/she was breaking) Dormía (He was sleeping)
Solíamos almorzar juntos todos los días. We used to have lunch together every day.
Cenábamos a las 7:30pm cada día. We had dinner at 7:30pm every day.
Iba al consultorio cuando sonó el teléfono. I would go to the office when the phone rang.
Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegué a la casa. My grandmother was cooking when I got home.
En ocasiones le faltaba el aire y la vista se le nublaba. Sometimes she would be short of breath and her eyesight would be blurred.
Eran las cuatro de la mañana. It was four o'clock in the morning.
El 9 de mayo fue el fatídico día. May 9 was the fateful day.
El chico tenía 12 años. The boy was 12 years old.
Mi abuelo era alegre y tenía una sonrisa pacífica. My grandfather was cheerful and had a peaceful smile.
Su profesor era delgado y tenía el cabello crespo. His teacher was thin and had frizzy hair.
La casa era acogedora. The house was cozy.
Hacía frió esa tarde. It was cold that afternoon.
Deseaba mudarme a un país lejano. I wanted to move to a faraway country.

The Imperfect Tense

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Table of Contents

The Imperfect Tense (Imperfect Preterite)

A Camila le gustaba bailar. Camila liked to dance.

Simón entrenaba a su perro los jueves y los sábados. Simon trained his dog on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Su jefe discutía constantemente. His boss argued constantly.

Mientras jugaba con su pelota, se lesionó la rodilla. While playing with his ball, he injured his knee.

Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)

Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)

Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.

Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.

Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.

Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.

Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.

Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.

La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.

Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.

Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)

Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)

Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.

Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.

Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.

Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.

Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.

Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.

La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.

Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.

Rompía (He/she was breaking) Dormía (He was sleeping)

Solíamos almorzar juntos todos los días. We used to have lunch together every day.

Cenábamos a las 7:30pm cada día. We had dinner at 7:30pm every day.

Iba al consultorio cuando sonó el teléfono. I would go to the office when the phone rang.

Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegué a la casa. My grandmother was cooking when I got home.

En ocasiones le faltaba el aire y la vista se le nublaba. Sometimes she would be short of breath and her eyesight would be blurred.

Eran las cuatro de la mañana. It was four o'clock in the morning.

El 9 de mayo fue el fatídico día. May 9 was the fateful day.

El chico tenía 12 años. The boy was 12 years old.

Mi abuelo era alegre y tenía una sonrisa pacífica. My grandfather was cheerful and had a peaceful smile.

Su profesor era delgado y tenía el cabello crespo. His teacher was thin and had frizzy hair.

La casa era acogedora. The house was cozy.

Hacía frió esa tarde. It was cold that afternoon.

Deseaba mudarme a un país lejano. I wanted to move to a faraway country.

The Conjugation of the Imperfect Preterite

A Camila le gustaba bailar. Camila liked to dance.

Simón entrenaba a su perro los jueves y los sábados. Simon trained his dog on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Su jefe discutía constantemente. His boss argued constantly.

Mientras jugaba con su pelota, se lesionó la rodilla. While playing with his ball, he injured his knee.

Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)

Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)

Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.

Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.

Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.

Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.

Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.

Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.

La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.

Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.

Rompía (I was breaking) Dormía (I was sleeping)

Rompías (You were braking) Dormías (You were sleeping)

Estaba hablando con tu mama, pero se emocionó mucho. I was talking to your mom, but she got very excited.

Estudiaba para matemáticas los sábados y los domingos. She studied for math on Saturdays and Sundays.

Corría en su auto constantemente hasta quien sabe cuándo. She ran in her car constantly until who knows when.

Nos alegraba recibirlos en casa. We were happy to welcome them home.

Lo enviaba a hacer sus tareas pero no las cumplía. She would send him to do his homework but he wouldn't do it.

Vivimos un momento muy emotivo pero tuvo terminar. We lived a very emotional moment but it had to end.

La abuelita escuchaba música clásica todas las mañanas. Granny listened to classical music every morning.

Hacía ejercicio en el parque muy a menudo hasta que no pudo más. She worked out in the park very often until she couldn't take it anymore.

Rompía (He/she was breaking) Dormía (He was sleeping)

Solíamos almorzar juntos todos los días. We used to have lunch together every day.

Cenábamos a las 7:30pm cada día. We had dinner at 7:30pm every day.

Iba al consultorio cuando sonó el teléfono. I would go to the office when the phone rang.

Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegué a la casa. My grandmother was cooking when I got home.

En ocasiones le faltaba el aire y la vista se le nublaba. Sometimes she would be short of breath and her eyesight would be blurred.

Eran las cuatro de la mañana. It was four o'clock in the morning.

El 9 de mayo fue el fatídico día. May 9 was the fateful day.

El chico tenía 12 años. The boy was 12 years old.

Mi abuelo era alegre y tenía una sonrisa pacífica. My grandfather was cheerful and had a peaceful smile.

Su profesor era delgado y tenía el cabello crespo. His teacher was thin and had frizzy hair.

La casa era acogedora. The house was cozy.

Hacía frió esa tarde. It was cold that afternoon.