While in Spanish, we use the imperfect tense to say the same thing. In English, the above examples would be categorized as simple past and past progressive. An hour ago, I was sleeping when you screamed – Hace una hora, dormía cuando gritaste.When I was young, I used to run faster than now – Cuando era joven, corría más rápido que ahora.The imperfect tense in Spanish does not necessarily have a direct translation to English and so depending on the context, the direct translation is closer to a Simple Past or Past Progressive in English. Now is a good time to mention an important point. Back then you were barely 8 years old – Para ese entonces sólo tenías 8 años.The imperfect is also used to mention someone’s age in the past. He was born on May 2nd – Él nació el 2 de mayo.the date is the principle idea), we use the simple past tense. However, when we talk about a completed action that occurred on a specific day or date, time, or time period (ie. It was July 19th when that happened, I remember well – Era 19 de Julio cuando eso pasó, lo recuerdo bien.In other words, the imperfect is required anytime you need to “set the scene” in a story. In addition to what we already covered, the imperfect tense is also used to talk about past times and dates. She was tall, had long hair and deep blue eyes – Ella era alta, tenía cabello largo y ojos azul profundo.If you like to tell stories, then mastering the Spanish imperfect tense is a must, as this tense is required for giving descriptions about things that happened in the past, specifically in the area of sensory perception i.e. I was washing the dishes when you arrived – Lavaba los platos cuando llegasteĭescriptions of characteristics, conditions, and feelings.The Imperfect tense is also used to talk about a past action that was in progress, but was then interrupted by another action, or simply a past action that continued in the past for an unspecified period of time and we don’t know if it finished or not. I used to study on Saturdays – Yo estudiaba los sábadosĪctions that were in progress in the past.The closest English equivalent to this would be when you describe a past action that used to be done. When we say habitual, we’re referring to an action that happened several times in the past to the point that it became routine-like. It can also be used to describe a continuous past action, which may or may not have been completed. When To Use Imperfect Spanish TenseĪs we already mentioned above, the imperfect Spanish tense is used to talk about past actions, conditions or events that occurred habitually. We’re going to go deep and explore how exactly you can start using imperfect tense Spanish. A description in the past – age, feelings, time, dates and moreĭon’t worry if you’re still a little confused.A past action that was being done before it was interrupted by a different action.A past action that was done in a continuous, or habitual state.In this post, we are going to simplify Imperfect past tense Spanish, and how to finally stop confusing it with the preterite (simple past) tense.īut first, you should know that the Spanish imperfect tense is used to speak about: It’s normal for the Spanish Imperfect tense to cause confusion for anyone learning Spanish.Īfter all, there are several different ways to speak about the past in Spanish – and knowing how to use each one takes some getting used to. Have conversations faster, understand people when they speak fast, and other tested tips to learn faster. Get our free email course, Shortcut to Conversational.
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