Transcript Usted
El Imperfecto
Talking about habitual,
recurring past actions
el imperfecto
After the preterite, the imperfect is the
most frequently used tense to express
past actions.
Good news! There are no stem changes
in the imperfect.
And (like it could get any better, I know!)
there are only 3 irregular verbs in the
imperfect.
-ar endings
Take off the –ar ending to get the stem, then add
the appropriate ending below according to the
subject.
Yo
-aba
Tú
-abas
El/Ella/
Usted
-aba
Nosotros/as
-ábamos
Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes
-aban
-er/-ir endings
Again, remove the ending to get the stem.
Then, use the correct ending below to match the
subject.
Yo
-ía
Tú
- ías
El/Ella/
Usted
- ía
Nosotros/as
- íamos
Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes
- ían
Irregular verbs
Just like all other irregular verb forms, you just
have to memorize these.
Ir…Always remember iba is a word, not an
ending!
Yo
Iba
Tú
Ibas
El/Ella/
Usted
iba
Nosotros/as
íbamos
Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes
iban
-er/-ir endings
Ser
Yo
Tú
El/Ella/
Usted
era
eras
era
Nosotros/as
éramos
Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes
eran
veía
veías
veía
Nosotros/as
Veíamos
Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes
veían
Ver
Yo
Tú
El/Ella/
Usted
imperfect uses
The imperfect verb tense is used to
express habitual or repeated actions in the
past. The specific time the even began or
ended is unimportant.
Here are some common expressions that
accompany the imperfect:
– Siempre, a menudo, con frecuencia, muchas
veces, cada día, cada viernes, cada semana,
cada año, en la épca precolombina, durante
el Ranacimiento
waterloads
The imperfect is used to describe persons,
places, and things in the past.
We use the acronym “water loads” to remember
what circumstances require the imperfect.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Weather
Age
Time
Emotion
Repeated actions
Location
On-going actions
Appearance
Date/desire
Setting the background