Past situations
Describe what someone or something was like in the past.
Cuando era pequeño, vivía en Madrid.
When I was little, I lived in Madrid.
Spanish grammar · Past tenses
Pretérito
imperfecto
How do we describe what life was like, what we used to do, and what was happening in the past?
Background
Past habits
Ongoing actions
Cuando era pequeño, vivía en Madrid.
When I was little, I lived in Madrid.
When I was little, I lived in Madrid.
Today: use it → form it → combine it with the pretérito perfecto simple (indefinido).
01 · Meaning
When do we use the imperfecto?
Three common situations.
Past habits
Talk about things you used to do or did regularly.
Antes jugaba al fútbol todos los días.
I used to play football every day.
Ongoing past actions
Describe what was happening at a moment in the past.
Estudiaba cuando sonó el teléfono.
I was studying when the phone rang.
Remember: Imperfecto presents past situations, habits or actions in progress without focusing on their beginning or end.
02 · Form
Regular conjugation
Two sets of endings: -ar and -er / -ir.
| Subject | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| tú | hablabas | comías | vivías |
| él / ella / usted | hablaba | comía | vivía |
| nosotros/as | hablábamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros/as | hablabais | comíais | vivíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaban | comían | vivían |
Notice the written accents: hablábamos, comía, vivíamos.
Key pattern: -aba / -abas / -aba / -ábamos / -abais / -aban
-ía / -ías / -ía / -íamos / -íais / -ían
-ía / -ías / -ía / -íamos / -íais / -ían
02 · Form
Only three irregular verbs!
Learn ser, ir and ver. All other verbs follow the regular imperfecto endings.
| Subject | ser | ir | ver |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | era | iba | veía |
| tú | eras | ibas | veías |
| él / ella / usted | era | iba | veía |
| nosotros/as | éramos | íbamos | veíamos |
| vosotros/as | erais | ibais | veíais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | eran | iban | veían |
Quick check
Nosotros, de pequeños,
muy tímidos.
03 · Contrast
Imperfecto vs. perfecto simple
The pretérito perfecto simple is also called indefinido.
Background
How things were, what people used to do, or what was happening.
Antes vivía en Madrid.
Events
What happened — actions presented as complete events or whole periods.
Ayer visité a Ana.
Important: The difference is not simply “long actions vs. short actions.” It is how the speaker presents the past.
03 · Together in one story
Background + event
One action was in progress when another event occurred.
Estudiaba cuando sonó el teléfono.
estudiaba
sonó
Imperfecto: action in progress
Indefinido: event
estudiaba
What was happening? → The background.
What was happening? → The background.
sonó
What happened? → The event.
What happened? → The event.
Note: Imperfecto can also describe an action in progress without any interruption.
03 · Reading a story
Habits + a specific event
Click the highlighted verbs to explain the tense choice.
Cuando pequeño, al fútbol todos los días. Un día, una pierna.
Select a verb in the story above.
Useful clues: todos los días often introduces a habit; un día often introduces a specific event. Context, not the clue alone, determines the tense.
03 · Meaning
Same verb. Different viewpoint.
Both tenses can describe living in Madrid. The perspective changes.
Antes vivía en Madrid.
Describes a past situation, without focusing on its boundaries.
Viví en Madrid tres años.
Views the three-year period as a complete stage of the past.
Ask yourself: Am I describing the past from inside the situation, or presenting an event / period as a whole?
A completed action is not necessarily short. Viví allí diez años is also possible.
04 · Practice
Complete the story
Choose the correct form of imperfecto or perfecto simple (indefinido).
1. Cuando yo
(ser) pequeño, vivía en Barcelona.
2. Todos los días
(ir) al colegio en bicicleta.
3. Un día,
(tener) un accidente.
4. Mientras
(estudiar), sonó el teléfono.
05 · Takeaways
Three questions to remember
Choose a tense according to how you want to present the past.
What was it like?
↓
Imperfecto
A past situation or description.
What did you usually do?
↓
Imperfecto
A past habit or repeated activity.
What was happening when something happened?
↓
Imperfecto + indefinido
An ongoing background action and an event.
Try it with a partner
Make three sentences about your childhood using these prompts:
Cuando era pequeño/a, … | Antes, todos los días … | Un día, …