The Imperfect Tense:-Ar Regular Verbs

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Preterite• You have already learned to

talk about the past using the preterite tense for actions that began and ended at a definite time.

Preterite• Ana cantó en la fiesta anoche.• Ana sang at the party last

night.• (Completed past action.)

Imperfect• The imperfect tense is

another way to talk about the past. We use it to describe actions without any indication of their beginning or end.

Imperfect• Ana cantaba.• Ana was singing.• (No indication of beginning or

end.)

Imperfect•We use the imperfect to talk

about actions that happened repeatedly in the past. In English we often say “used to” or “would” to express this idea.

Imperfect• Generalmente caminaban

mucho.• Generally they would walk a

lot.

Imperfect• Jugaban con otros niños de la

familia.• They used to play with other

children in the family.

Imperfect• Expressions such as

generalmente, a menudo, muchas veces, todos los días, siempre, and nunca can tell us to use the imperfect.

Imperfect• Here are all the forms of -ar

verbs in the imperfect. Notice the accent mark on the nosotros form.

CAMINAR (to walk)Yo caminaba

Tú caminabas

ÉlElla caminabaUd.

Nosotros caminábamos

EllosEllas caminabanUds.

• Since the yo and the Ud./él/ella forms are the same, we often use the subject pronouns to avoid confusion.

Imperfect

Imperfect

Let’s do a few more verbs.

PATINAR (to skate)Yo patinaba

Tú patinabas

ÉlElla patinabaUd.

Nosotros patinábamos

EllosEllas patinabanUds.

USAR (to use)Yo usaba

Tú usabas

ÉlElla usabaUd.

Nosotros usábamos

EllosEllas usabanUds.

JUGAR (to play)Yo jugaba

Tú jugabas

ÉlElla jugabaUd.

Nosotros jugábamos

EllosEllas jugabanUds.

Remember when to use the imperfect:

• If the verb

–1. describes (it has to be in the imperfect)–2. used to / would (it was a habit or a

routine)–3. was/were +ing (ongoing action