The imperfect: -AR verbs
The imperfect describes how things used to be and what was going on: Jugaba en la calle. Estaba en casa.
Theory
Take off -ar and add -aba. Every -ar verb is regular in the imperfect.
hablar in the imperfect
| Who | hablar |
|---|---|
| yo | hablaba |
| tú | hablabas |
| él / ella / usted | hablaba |
| nosotros/as | hablábamos |
| vosotros/as | hablabais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaban |
What it’s for
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Habits | De niño jugaba en la calle. | As a child I used to play in the street. |
| Habits | Siempre visitábamos a mis abuelos. | We always visited my grandparents. |
| Going on | Estaba en casa. | I was at home. |
| Going on | Mientras cocinaba, escuchaba la radio. | While I was cooking, I listened to the radio. |
| Background | Mi abuela trabajaba en una fábrica. | My grandmother worked in a factory. |
used to / was -ing
hablaba
= I used to talk / I was talking
yo = él
hablaba = I / he / she talked
Add the subject if it’s unclear.
Accent only on nosotros
hablábamos = we used to talk
but hablabais = you (all) used to talk
Signal words
antes, de niño, siempre, todos los días, a menudo, mientras = before, as a child, always, every day, often, while
No irregular -ar verbs
estar → estaba = to be → I / he / she was
dar → daba = to give → I / he / she used to give
jugar → jugaba = to play → I / he / she used to play
Coming soon
Preterite = what happened.
Imperfect = how things were.
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