6.4: Formas del imperfecto
- Page ID
- 213269
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Forming the Imperfect Tense
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