The imperfect: -ER, -IR and three irregulars
-ER and -IR verbs share one set of imperfect endings, and only three verbs in the whole language are irregular.
Theory
Regular: -ía endings. Irregular: just ser, ir and ver.
comer and vivir
| Who | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comía | vivía |
| tú | comías | vivías |
| él / ella / usted | comía | vivía |
| nosotros/as | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros/as | comíais | vivíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comían | vivían |
The only three irregulars
| Who | ser | ir | ver |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | era | iba | veía |
| tú | eras | ibas | veías |
| él / ella / usted | era | iba | veía |
| nosotros/as | éramos | íbamos | veíamos |
| vosotros/as | erais | ibais | veíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | eran | iban | veían |
Accent on every í
comía, comías, comíamos = I used to eat, you used to eat, we used to eat
Just three irregulars
ser → era = to be → was
ir → iba = to go → used to go
ver → veía = to see → used to see
Everything else is regular!
había = there was / were
Había un parque. = There was a park.
Había muchos niños. = There were lots of children.
Never habían here.
Time in the past
Era la una. = It was one o’clock.
Eran las tres. = It was three o’clock.
iba a + infinitive
= was going to
Iba a llamarte. = I was going to call you.
yo = él
comía
= I / he / she ate
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