El Imperfecto

El Imperfecto = Used to

Different Ending for -AR and -ER/-IR verbs.For negative sentences add ¨no¨ before the conjugated verb.

For Regular -AR VerbsIngredients: Drop off the -AR ending of verb + aba                                                      abas                                                      aba                                                      ábamos                                                      abais                                                      aban

Example:Hablar = to talkHablaba = I used to talkHablabas = You (singular, informal) used to talkHablaba = He/she/it/you (singular, formal) used to talkHablábamos = We used to talkHablabais = You (plural, informal) used to talkHablaban = They/you (plural, formal) used to talk

For Regular -ER/-IR VerbsIngredients: Drop off the -ER/-IR ending of verb + ía                                                            ías                                                            ía                                                            íamos                                                            íais                                                            ían

Example:Vivir = to liveVivía = I used to liveVivías = You (singular, informal) used to liveVivía = He/she/it/you (singular, formal) used to liveVivíamos = We used to liveVivíais = You (plural, informal) used to liveVivían = They/you (plural, formal) used to live

WHEN DO I USE THIS TENSE? to refer to actions in the past that occurred repeatedly to refer to actions in the past that occurred over an extended period of time to "set the stage" for an event that occurred in the past actions which are not physical, that is feelings and mental actions, usually use the imperfect tense (e.g. he was feeling sick). frequently associated with phrases that describe the frequency of past actions (e.g. often, sometimes, never, usually, etc.). (source: http://www.studyspanish.com/verbs/lessons/impreg.htm)

Irregular VerbsThere are only three irregular verbs in this tense. Their entire form changes.

Ser = to beera eras era éramos erais eran

Ver = to watchveía veías veía veíamos veíais veían

Ir = to goiba ibas iba íbamos ibais iban

Regular -AR Verbs

Regular -ER/-IR Verbs

Irregular Verbs