Beginning Spanish ¡Empecemos por aquí!

Module C: Long-term goals  • 423 Lengua 5.5: Imperfect tense The imperfect tense is one of the most common ways to talk about the past in Spanish. Its main uses are to describe what things were like in the past, express habitual actions in the past, and express that an action or situation was ongoing. Cuando era niña, tomaba clases de baile. Bailaba todos los sábados. ¿Qué hacías esta mañana a las nueve? Te llamé y no contestaste. In Lengua 5.6, we will focus on how the imperfect and preterite differ. For now, we will focus on the imperfect tense itself. Cómo formar el imperfecto Begin with the infinitive of the verb. Remove the -ar , -er , or -ir . Add the ending that corresponds with the subject. Tomar Responder Abrir Yo tom aba respond ía abr ía Tú tom abas respond ías abr ías Ella, él, usted tom aba respond ía abr ía Nosotras, nosotros tom ábamos respond íamos abr íamos Ellas, ellos, ustedes tom aban respond ían abr ían Alternative forms Vos tom abas respond ías abr ías Vosotros tom abais respond íais abr íais Note that all -er and -ir imperfect conjugations have an accent mark, as does the nosotros/as form of -ar verbs. Also, the first and third person singular forms are the same ( yo and ella , él , usted ), which means that you are more likely to need to use these pronouns if the context does not clarify who you are referring to. Las conjugaciones irregulares There are only three! Ser Ir Ver Yo era iba veía