Cuando era niño me gustaba ir al circo: the pretérito imperfecto
e saw, in the previous article, the pretérito indefinido. In that article we also saw that the pretérito indefinido, like all perfective tenses, emphasizes the completion of the verbal action. In this article we will see the imperfect tense, and I repeat concepts that I used in the previous article: although when we learn a language we get used to the different things that language has compared to the one or ones we already speak during the learning process, understanding concepts can accelerate the learning process. The pretérito imperfecto, like all imperfective tenses, is used to introduce actions whose end is not important or is irrelevant from a semantic point of view. If I, for example, tell you that at six years old sabía leer (I knew how to read), the only message I want to convey to you is that I, at that age, had that ability. Whether I still know how to read or not cannot be known from that message, and it is irrelevant from a communicative point of view. And this doesn't connect with reality, in a strict sense: surely I still know how to read, unless something has happened to prevent me from doing so, but my message conveys neither one thing nor the other. On the contrary, if I tell you that at six years old leí un libro (I read a book) it follows from my message that that action, reading that book, ended. And the concept I want to leave here is that, beyond the rules for using the imperfect tense that we will see in this article, the choice between a perfective and an imperfective tense in Spanish depends, basically, on semantics. In many cases, moreover, these verb tenses overlap: if I say that en vacaciones me bañaba todos los días (on vacation I used to bathe every day) or en vacaciones me bañé todos los días (on vacation I bathed every day) I am saying the same thing, and both constructions are valid. And one thing I can assure you: if you ask almost any native Spanish speaker who doesn't have theoretical training in the grammar of the language the difference between the indefinido and the imperfecto they won't be able to answer you. And if by chance they know the names of these verb tenses, they can probably simply give you examples of use but won't know how to tell you in which cases one or the other is used, although they use them perfectly. Thus, while the short path is to learn directly in which cases to use each of these preterites, the long path is to understand the concepts of perfectivity and imperfectivity. Which, in the long run, is shorter, because it helps with many other topics in the Spanish language. But enough, the introduction has already become too long. It was something like "in this article we will see the pretérito imperfecto de indicativo. Its uses, its regular conjugation, frequently used irregular verbs and examples of use. Let's go!".
If you already have a certain level of handling of the imperfecto and what you have are doubts about when to use this verb tense and when the indefinido, I recommend that you read this article. There you will find an explanation about the use and conjugation of both verb tenses, plus similar phrases in both verb tenses with an explanation of the context in which both would be used, that is, a comparison. If you are starting with the past tenses in Spanish, stay in this article.
What is the pretérito imperfecto?
The pretérito imperfecto is a verb tense of the indicative mood that we use to express actions that occurred in the past, but that do not have a definite end: when we use this verb tense we indicate that something was happening at a certain moment but, from a semantic point of view, we don’t know if that action ended. Unlike the pretérito indefinido, the imperfecto presents actions to us as if we were seeing them “from the inside,” as a process in development. Its main uses are to introduce repetitive actions in the past, such as to describe our routine, to make descriptions of people, places, objects or weather in the past, to introduce actions that, while they were in process in the past, were interrupted by another specific one, and to introduce thoughts, emotions or beliefs in the past. It is also used in many cases to introduce age and time in the past, always accompanied by a relevant event or action. Let’s see examples.
Cuando era niño, jugaba fútbol todos los días. (When I was a child, I played soccer every day).
Mi abuela cocinaba empanadas cada domingo. (My grandmother cooked empanadas every Sunday).
Íbamos a la playa todos los veranos. (We went to the beach every summer).
Ella estudiaba francés por las tardes. (She studied French in the afternoons).
In these examples we see habitual actions in the past.
La casa era muy grande y tenía un jardín hermoso. (The house was very big and had a beautiful garden).
María llevaba un vestido azul y estaba muy elegante. (María was wearing a blue dress and was very elegant).
Hacía mucho calor esa tarde de verano. (It was very hot that summer afternoon).
El pueblo era pequeño y tranquilo. (The town was small and quiet).
In these, descriptions of places, people, weather.
Mientras estudiaba, sonó el teléfono. (While I was studying, the phone rang).
Caminábamos por el parque cuando empezó a llover. (We were walking in the park when it started to rain).
¿Qué hacías ayer a las tres de la tarde? (What were you doing yesterday at three in the afternoon?).
Veía televisión cuando llegaste. (I was watching television when you arrived).
In these examples, specific actions that interrupted an action in development, that is, that began while the other action was developing.
Pensaba que no vendrías. (I thought you wouldn’t come).
Creía que la reunión era mañana. (I believed the meeting was tomorrow).
Quería comprarte un regalo. (I wanted to buy you a gift).
Sabía que algo malo iba a pasar. (I knew something bad was going to happen).
Here we see examples of using this verb tense to express beliefs or thoughts in the past.
Cuando tenía veinte años, yo vivía en Madrid. (When I was twenty years old, I lived in Madrid).
Mi hijo tenía cinco años cuando aprendió a nadar. (My son was five years old when he learned to swim).
Eran las dos de la tarde cuando llegamos. (It was two in the afternoon when we arrived).
Era muy tarde cuando terminé el trabajo. (It was very late when I finished work).
And in these last examples we introduce age and time and events or actions relevant to that age or that time, without the completion of what is expressed in the imperfect tense being relevant from a communicative point of view.
Imperfect tense of courtesy.
The Spanish language is a language of closeness, so courtesy formulas are used less than in other languages. Because courtesy maintains distance, and Spanish speakers try to shorten the distance with the interlocutor. So, while the use of normal courtesy formulas from other languages is less frequent, which would seem like overly courteous forms in Spanish, we do use the imperfect tense to soften requests. Thus, if we are in a café and we want a coffee, we could say dame un café (give me a coffee) in imperative, ¿me das un café, por favor? (can you give me a coffee, please?) or yo quería un café (I wanted a coffee). And no, in this case we are not saying that yesterday we wanted to drink coffee, we are politely asking for that coffee we want now. This form is widely used, especially when dealing with strangers and we have to ask them for something.
Regular conjugation of the pretérito imperfecto.
The regular conjugation in pretérito imperfecto is formed with the verb stem plus regular endings according to the group to which the verb belongs. The verb stem is obtained by eliminating the infinitive ending: hablar (to speak) = habl, comer (to eat) = com, vivir (to live) = viv. As in the case of the pretérito indefinido, the regular endings for verbs ending in -ER and -IR are the same.
Verbs ending in -AR (example: hablar (to speak)):
Yo -aba –> Yo hablaba
Tú -abas –>Tú hablabas
Él/Ella/Usted -aba –> Él/Ella/Usted hablaba
Nosotros/as -ábamos –> Nosotros/as hablábamos
Vosotros/as -abais –> Vosotros/as hablabais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes -aban –> Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablaban
Verbs ending in -ER and -IR: verbs ending in -ER and -IR have the same endings in pretérito imperfecto.
Yo -ía
Tú -ías
Él/Ella/Usted -ía
Nosotros/as -íamos
Vosotros/as -íais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes -ían
Comer:
Yo comía
Tú comías
Él/Ella/Usted comía
Nosotros/as comíamos
Vosotros/as comíais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comían
Vivir:
Yo vivía
Tú vivías
Él/Ella/Usted vivía
Nosotros/as vivíamos
Vosotros/as vivíais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes vivían
Irregular verbs in pretérito imperfecto.
Good news! There are three irregular verbs in imperfect tense, namely, ser (to be), ir (to go) and ver (to see).
Ser:
Yo era
Tú eras
Él/Ella/Usted era
Nosotros/Nosotras éramos
Vosotros/Vosotras erais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes eran
Ir:
Yo iba
Tú ibas
Él/Ella/Usted iba
Nosotros/Nosotras íbamos
Vosotros/Vosotras ibais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes iban
Ver:
Yo veía
Tú veías
Él/Ella/Usted veía
Nosotros/Nosotras veíamos
Vosotros/Vosotras veíais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes veían
Time markers with the imperfect tense: certain time markers accompany this verb tense. In general they are those referring to routine, to repetitive actions, or to more unspecific moments in the past than those that accompany perfect tenses.
Antes (Before): Antes vivía en Argentina. (I used to live in Argentina before).
Cuando era niño/joven (When I was a child/young): Cuando era joven, viajaba mucho. (When I was young, I traveled a lot).
En aquella época (In that time): En aquella época no había internet. (In that time there was no internet).
Todos los días/semanas/años (Every day/week/year): Todos los días desayunaba café. (Every day I had coffee for breakfast).
Siempre (Always): Siempre llegaba tarde al trabajo. (I always arrived late to work).
Frecuentemente (Frequently): Frecuentemente visitaba a mis abuelos. (I frequently visited my grandparents).
A menudo (Often): A menudo íbamos al cine. (We often went to the movies.).
De pequeño/a (As a child): De pequeña me gustaba mucho leer. (As a child I really liked to read).
En el pasado (In the past): En el pasado las cosas eran diferentes. (In the past things were different).
One of the easiest ways to practice this verb tense is to make a description of childhood. Thus, I can say that cuando yo era niño vivía en una pequeña ciudad al noroeste de Uruguay. De mañana iba a la escuela, a mediodía volvía a mi casa, almorzaba y luego hacía los deberes. De tarde jugaba con mis amigos en la calle y, cuando anochecía, volvía a mi casa, me bañaba, cenaba y me acostaba temprano. (when I was a child I lived in a small city in northwest Uruguay. In the morning I went to school, at noon I returned home, had lunch and then did homework. In the afternoon I played with my friends in the street and, when it got dark, I returned home, bathed, had dinner and went to bed early.)
We have reached the end of this article. I know that the distinction between some Spanish verb tenses can be complex, but with practice it is achieved. I hope these lines have been useful to you, here I leave you exercises to practice this topic and, as always, thanks for reading!
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