The document discusses the imperfect tense in Spanish. It notes that the imperfect tense describes past activities differently than the preterit tense. It provides examples of imperfect verb forms and their uses, including to describe incomplete or ongoing past actions, habitual past actions, and how things used to be. Key irregular verbs in the imperfect are ir, ser, and ver.

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Spanish has two past tenses. You have already
learned the preterit tense. Now you will learn the
imperfect tense, which describes past activities in a
different way.

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The imperfect endings of –er and –ir
verbs are the same. The nosotros form of –ar
verbs has an accent on the first a of the ending.
–Er and –ir verb forms carry an accent on the
first i of the ending.

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There are no stem changes in the
imperfect tense.
Me duelen los pies. Me dolían los pies.
My feet hurt. My feet were hurting.

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The imperfect form of hay is había
(there was/were/used to be).
Había sólo un médico. Había dos pacientes allí.
There was only one doctor. There were two patients there.

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Ir, ser, and ver are the only irregular verbs
in the imperfect.

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Uses of the imperfect
The imperfect is used to describe past events in a different
way than the preterite. Generally, the imperfect describes
actions which are seen by the speaker as incomplete or
continuing, while the preterite describes actions which have
been completed. The imperfect expresses what was
happening at a certain time or how things used to be.
—¿Qué te pasó? —Me torcí el tobillo.
What happened to you? I sprained my ankle.
—¿Dónde vivías de niño? —Vivía en San José.
Where did you live as a child? I lived in San José.

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Uses of the imperfect (cont’d)
Use these expressions with the imperfect to
express habitual or repeated actions: de
niño/a (as a child), todos los días (every
day), mientras (while).

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Uses of the imperfect (cont’d)