6.4: Formas del imperfecto
- Page ID
- 213269
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The imperfect is one of the most straightforward tenses to conjugate in Spanish because it is really regular. Look at the endings in the table below.
Imperfect Endings for -ar verbs
- Start with the infinitive.
- Remove the -ar, -er, -ir ending.
- Replace with the endings below depending on whether it is an -ar,-er, or -ir verb.
- Don't forget the the "i" always carries an accent!
| Person | Endings for -ar verbs | Endings for -er/-ir verbs |
| yo | -aba | -ía |
| tú | -abas | -ías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -aba | -ía |
| nosotros/nosotras | -ábamos | -íamos |
| vosotros/vosotras | -abais | -íais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -aba | -ían |
Conjugation of -ar and -er/-ir verbs in the imperfect
| -AR: hablar | -ER/-IR: comer | |
| yo | hablaba | comía |
| tú | hablabas | comías |
| él/ella/usted | hablaba | comía |
| nosotros | hablábamos | comíamos |
| vosotros | hablabais | comíais |
| ellos | hablaban | comían |
Irregular verbs in the imperfect
The good news is that there are only three irregulars in the imperfect tense.
| Ser | Ir | Ver | |
| Yo | era | iba | veía |
| Tú | eras | ibas | veías |
| él/ella/usted | era | iba | veía |
| Nosotros | éramos | íbamos | veíamos |
| Vosotros | erais | ibais | veíais |
| Ellos | eran | iban | veían |
The exercises below will allow you to practice a bit.
Actividad 1
Creada por Angela Chen de UC Davis
Actividad 2
Creada por Angela Chen de UC Davis
Actividad 3