Preterite Imperfect Tense In Spanish

The preterite imperfect tense in Spanish (Pretérito Imperfecto) is used to talk about past habits that was usual in a period of time in the past, and to describe people, things or places in the past.

In this lesson, we will talk about the use and difference between the Pretérito Indefinido and the Pretérito Imperfecto, and conjugation of each verb type (-ar, -er and -ir) then give some examples.

Preterite Imperfect Tense In Spanish

We use the “pretérito imperfecto” to talk about past habits:

Tomaba café todos los días: I used to drink coffee every day

And to describe people or things in the past:

Tenía el pelo largo cuando era niño: I had long hair when i was a kid

For regular verbs, they follow the following patterns:

Verbs that end with -ar

Example: Estudiar (to study):

Example: Hablar (to speak)

Note: you can practice what you’ve learned here, and learn how to pronounce each of the words in our Memrise course here, don’t know how to use the platform or sign up? we’ve got you covered in this easy-to-follow tutorial here.

Verbs that end with -er and -ir

Both regular verbs with -er and -ir endings follow this rule:

Example: aprender (to learn)

Example: comer (to eat)

Example: decidir (to decide)

Some irregular verbs

Ser (to be):

Ir (to go):

Ver (to see):

Pretérito Indefinido Vs Pretérito Imperfecto In Spanish

We use “pretérito indefinido” to talk about specific events that have finished in the past, while we use the “pretérito imperfecto” to describe people, habits and things in the past

Related: Pretérito indefinido in Spanish (the preterite tense)

Happy learning!

Oualid Cheddadi

Oualid Cheddadi is a language enthusiast who created Lingualid with the mission to inspire independent language learners worldwide, regardless of the language they are learning. The name “Lingualid” is derived from the Portuguese word for “language,” “língua,” and the last three letters of Oualid’s name, “Lid.”

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