The Imperfect past tense

The Imperfect is often called the Descriptive Past Tense because we "set scenes" using the Imperfect Tense. The Imperfect handles three different Past tense constructions in English:

I studied at Ohlone College. (we don't know if I finished or not.)
I used to study at Ohlone College.
I was studying at Ohlone college.

It is important to note that we use the Imperfect to indicate we "were doing" something. In other words, we use the Imperfect to say:

I was studying last night, while Susana was watching television

Yo estudiaba anoche mientras que Susana miraba la televisión.

Do not use the Present Progressive (Estar + "-ing") to say this.

The Imperfect past tense endings:

	AR VERBS	IR/ER VERBS
Yo	aba	ía
Tú	abas	ías
Él, ella, usted	aba	ía
Nosotros	ábamos	íamos
Ellos	aban	ían

(Note: for -ir and -er verbs, the "í" of the Imperfect past tense always carries an accent as well as the "á" of the Nosotros form of the -ar verbs!)
Examples:

	Yo	Tú	Él, ella, usted	Nosotros	Ellos
Hablar	hablaba	hablabas	hablaba	hablábamos	hablaban
Comer	comía	comías	comía	comíamos	comían
Vivir	vivía	vivías	vivía	vivíamos	vivían

There are only three verbs that are irregular in the Imperfect: Ser, Ir, and Ver!

	Yo	Tú	Él, ella, usted	Nosotros	Ellos
Ser	era	eras	era	éramos	eran
Ir	iba	ibas	iba	íbamos	iban
Ver	veía	veías	veía	veíamos	veían

Click here for information on
WHEN we use the Imperfect past tense

Practice on the Web: Verb Conjugator
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