The imperfect

1. Use the imperfect for what used to happen and what was going on

   The imperfect describes habits in the past and things that were in progress: Cuando era pequeño, jugaba en el parque todos los días. English often says used to or was doing for it.

2. Form the imperfect of -ar verbs

   Add -aba for I, -abas for you and -aba for he or she: jugaba, estudiabas, trabajaba. I and he share one form, so the context or a pronoun tells them apart.

3. Form the imperfect of -er and -ir verbs

   Both groups take -ía, -ías, -ía, always with an accent on the i: comía, vivías, salía. Tenía means I had, or I used to have.

4. Learn era, iba and veía

   Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era, eras), ir (iba, ibas) and ver (veía, veías). Iba al colegio en autobús means I used to go to school by bus.

5. Describe the past with había, tenía, estaba and era

   For description, use había (there was, there were), tenía (had), estaba (was, for a state or a place) and era (was, for a trait): La casa era grande y había un jardín. Hacía calor means it was hot.

6. Choose between the imperfect and the preterite

   The imperfect sets the scene and the preterite tells the events: Hacía sol y estaba en la playa cuando vi a Marta. A single finished action at a known time takes the preterite: Ayer fui al cine.

7. Spot the time phrases that call for the imperfect

   Phrases for repeated or ongoing past actions point to the imperfect: siempre, normalmente, todos los días, cada verano, antes and cuando era pequeño or pequeña. Antes vivía en Leeds means I used to live in Leeds.

8. Use the plural imperfect formsHigher only

   At Higher, add -ábamos, -abais and -aban, or -íamos, -íais and -ían: jugábamos, vivían. The three irregular verbs go plural too, as éramos, íbamos and veíamos: Íbamos a la playa cada verano.

Imperfect

The past tense for what used to happen, what was going on and what things were like: Vivía en Londres means I used to live in London.

-aba

The imperfect ending for -ar verbs, for I and for he or she: hablaba means I used to talk, or he was talking.

-ía

The imperfect ending for -er and -ir verbs, as in comía and salía. The accent on the i is always there.

era

Was or used to be, for a trait, from ser: Mi abuelo era muy divertido means my grandfather was very funny.

iba

Used to go, or was going, from ir: Iba a pie al colegio means I used to walk to school.

había

There was, there were or there used to be: Había mucha gente en la calle means there were lots of people in the street.

tenía

Had, or used to have, from tener: Tenía un perro means I had a dog.

cuando era pequeño

When I was little, a common way into the imperfect, with pequeña for a girl: Cuando era pequeña, vivía en el campo.

Habitual action

Something done again and again in the past, which takes the imperfect: Todos los veranos iba a Galicia.

• Using the preterite for a repeated habit, as in De pequeño jugué al fútbol cada día.

  Something you used to do again and again takes the imperfect: De pequeño jugaba al fútbol cada día.

• Leaving the accent off -ía, as in tenia or vivia.

  Every -er and -ir imperfect ending has an accent on the i: tenía, vivía, había.

• Using iría when you mean used to go.

  Ir has its own imperfect: iba, ibas. Iría is the conditional, and it means I would go.

• Using era for a feeling, as in Era cansado.

  The ser and estar rule still holds in the past: Era alto for a trait, and Estaba cansado for how someone felt.

• Telling a whole story in the imperfect, so nothing ever happens.

  Use the imperfect to set the scene and the preterite for the events: Llovía y hacía frío cuando salí de casa.

More Verbs and tenses topics

• The present tense
• Irregular and stem-changing verbs
• Ser, estar and tener
• Reflexive verbs
• Gustar and verbs like it
• Modal verbs and impersonal phrases

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• The GCSE Spanish syllabus, explained