Spanish imperfect tense endings: -aba, -ía and three irregular verbs

Spanish imperfect tense endings

What are the Spanish imperfect endings?

Remove -ar and add -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais or -aban. Hablar becomes hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablabais, hablaban. The first- and third-person singular forms are identical.

Remove -er or -ir and add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais or -ían. Comer gives comía and vivir gives vivía. Every form in this set keeps a written accent on í.

Use the imperfect for repeated habits, descriptions, age, time and background in a past scene: De niño jugaba fuera; eran las ocho; hacía frío. Only ser, ir and ver break the two regular patterns.

Form an imperfect verb in three steps

Find the infinitive and remove -ar, -er or -ir.

Choose -aba for -ar or the accented -ía set for -er and -ir.

Match the subject. If the verb is ser, ir or ver, learn its short irregular chart instead.

32 Spanish imperfect examples

The examples cover every person in both regular sets, frequent A2 uses and the three irregular verbs without mixing in the preterite.

Learn the imperfect in four blocks

Master the -aba and -ía charts first, then connect them to past habits, descriptions and the three irregular verbs.

When should you use the imperfect?

Use it for habits or repeated situations with markers such as siempre, cada verano, de niño and normalmente: Cada verano visitábamos a mis abuelos.

Use it to describe people, places, weather, age and clock time in a past scene: La casa era pequeña; hacía frío; eran las nueve.

Use it as background while a completed event can appear in the preterite: Leía cuando sonó el teléfono. This page teaches the imperfect forms and their core A2 uses, not every past-tense contrast.

Hola Cards is a Spanish flashcard app from holacards.org for iOS and Android. It is free to download, requires no account, has no ads, and works offline. The interface is available in English, Russian, and Portuguese; cards support translations in 28 languages and 18 practice and game modes. You can import these fixed sentences into a custom group for Spanish audio, writing, pronunciation, and spaced review. Hola Cards does not conjugate verbs or decide between past tenses automatically, so use this guide to build and check each form.

Connect the imperfect with regular preterite endings, present endings, subject pronouns, daily routines and beginner verbs.

Preterite endings / Present-tense endings / Subject pronouns / Daily routine phrases / 50 beginner verbs

A five-minute imperfect routine

1. Write the six -aba endings from memory.
2. Write the six accented -ía endings.
3. Conjugate ser, ir and ver once each.
4. Turn four present habits into past habits with de niño or antes.
5. Hear and rewrite eight complete sentences without looking at the chart.

Grammar references

The forms, three irregular verbs and A2 uses were checked against these primary sources.

• RAE–ASALE Spanish conjugation models: pretérito imperfecto
• Instituto Cervantes A2 activity: imperfect forms, descriptions and past habits
• Instituto Cervantes A1–A2 grammar inventory

**Spanish imperfect: 32 examples**

Hablaba con Ana cada día. - I used to speak with Ana every day.
Estudiabas por la tarde. - You used to study in the afternoon.
María trabajaba en casa. - María used to work at home.
Caminábamos al colegio. - We used to walk to school.
Viajabais cada verano. - You all used to travel every summer.
Jugaban después de clase. - They used to play after class.
Siempre cocinaba los domingos. - I always cooked on Sundays.
El barrio cambiaba lentamente. - The neighbourhood was changing slowly.
Comía con mis abuelos. - I used to eat with my grandparents.
Bebías café por la mañana. - You used to drink coffee in the morning.
Vivía cerca del mar. - She used to live near the sea.
Leíamos antes de dormir. - We used to read before sleeping.
Escribíais cartas largas. - You all used to write long letters.
Salían a las siete. - They used to leave at seven.
Aprendía palabras nuevas. - I was learning new words.
El perro dormía junto a la puerta. - The dog slept by the door.
De niño jugaba en la calle. - As a child, I used to play in the street.
Cada verano visitábamos a mis abuelos. - Every summer we visited my grandparents.
Normalmente cenaban temprano. - They normally ate dinner early.
Antes no usabas el móvil. - You did not use a mobile phone before.
La casa era pequeña y luminosa. - The house was small and bright.
Hacía frío aquella noche. - It was cold that night.
Yo tenía diez años. - I was ten years old.
Leía cuando sonó el teléfono. - I was reading when the phone rang.
Era una ciudad tranquila. - It was a quiet city.
Éramos buenos amigos. - We were good friends.
Eran las nueve. - It was nine o’clock.
Iba al mercado los sábados. - I used to go to the market on Saturdays.
Íbamos juntos al colegio. - We used to go to school together.
Iban en autobús. - They used to go by bus.
Veía el mar desde mi ventana. - I could see the sea from my window.
Veíamos la televisión después de cenar. - We used to watch television after dinner.