A2 · The past
Imperfecto
How things were, what always was, what was going on.
The imperfecto describes instead of telling: how something was, what used to happen, what was going on when something else cut in. It has no beginning and no end — it is the background a story plays out against. English «I used to live» and «I was living» both land here.
The forms are remarkably regular: -ar takes -aba, -er and -ir take -ía. There are only three irregular verbs in the whole language — ser, ir and ver. After the irregularities of the indefinido that is a relief.
The imperfecto is typical for childhood memories, descriptions of places, age, the time of day and the weather in the past: Eran las ocho y llovía.
Die Form
| hablar | hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablabais, hablaban |
| comer / vivir | comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían |
| ser | era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran |
| ir | iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban |
| ver | veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
A habit in the past takes the imperfecto.
De niño jugaba al fútbol todos los días.As a child I used to play football every day.
A description takes the imperfecto.
La casa era vieja y tenía un jardín grande.The house was old and had a big garden.
What was going on takes the imperfecto.
Mientras cenábamos, sonó el teléfono.While we were having dinner, the phone rang.
The time, an age and the weather take the imperfecto.
Eran las tres y hacía mucho calor.It was three o'clock and very hot.
Woran man es erkennt
- antes
- siempre
- todos los días
- mientras
- de niño
- normalmente
Beispielsätze
Cuando era pequeña, vivíamos en el campo.When I was little we lived in the country.
Los domingos íbamos a casa de mis abuelos.On Sundays we used to go to my grandparents'.
No sabía que estabas aquí.I did not know you were here.
El piso tenía tres habitaciones y daba a la plaza.The flat had three rooms and looked out on the square.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
English has «used to» and «was doing» available and then does not use them: «I played football every day» is perfectly good English for a habit. Translated straight it gives the indefinido, which says it happened once. Ask yourself whether «used to» would fit — if it would, take the imperfecto.
Background, habit, description: imperfecto.
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