In the first lesson about the Spanish Verb Conjugation System we learned the changes that verbs experiment in the conjugation of the present tense indicative.

In the second lesson we learned the changes that verbs experiment in the conjugation of the preterite tense indicative.

In this lesson we are going to focus on the imperfect tense.

[If you haven’t read the first lesson about verb conjugation, click here.]

The goal of the information we are about to see is to make it easier for you to memorize the different forms. The more details you can consciously think about when you start, the easier it will be for you to recall each form. Later, you will start to remember them without thinking about any of these data.

We are going to see how this happens in each tense.

Imperfect Tense conjugation of Spanish verbs ending in -ar

This is the conjugation of preguntar [to ask a question] for the imperfect tense:

	IMPERFECT TENSE - indicative
yo	preguntaba
tú	preguntabas
él, ella / usted	preguntaba
nosotros, nosotras	preguntábamos
vosotros, vosotras	preguntabais
ellos, ellas / ustedes	preguntaban

You can see that the only part that changes is the ending (in blue)

Notice that the endings in all forms contain the thematic vowel (the original vowel in the infinitive’s ending): -a.

If you compare this conjugation to the conjugation of preguntar [to ask] for the present tense:

	PRESENT TENSE	IMPERFECT TENSE
yo	pregunto	preguntaba
tú	preguntas	preguntabas
él, ella / usted	pregunta	preguntaba
nosotros, nosotras	preguntamos	preguntábamos
vosotros, vosotras	preguntáis	preguntabais
ellos, ellas / ustedes	preguntan	preguntaban

You can see that, except the form for yo, all the imperfect tense forms seem the result of adding -ba after the thematic vowel -a in the present tense forms.

This fact can help you recall the forms at the beginning. However, remember that our goal is not that you became capable of adding certain sounds to the present tense conjugation, but that you internalize the imperfect tense conjugation as it is.

You can see that the form for yo, and the form for and él, ella / usted are the same (preguntaba).

It is important to notice also that there are no changes in the stress position. The stressed syllable (underlined in the chart) coincides with the stressed syllable in the infinitive.

Only the form for nosotros, nosotras (preguntábamos) has a graphic accent because, according to the accentuation rules, if we stress a word more than two syllables from the end, we need to write an accent on the vowel in the stressed syllable.

Imperfect Tense conjugation of Spanish verbs ending in -er

Now let's study the conjugation for a verb ending in -er, such as aprender [to learn]:

	IMPERFECT TENSE - indicative
yo	aprendía
tú	aprendías
él, ella / usted	aprendía
nosotros, nosotras	aprendíamos
vosotros, vosotras	aprendíais
ellos, ellas / ustedes	aprendían

Here, all forms loose the thematic vowel -e and use -í.

If you compare this conjugation to the conjugation of preguntar [to ask] we have just seen:

IMPERFECT TENSE	PREGUNTAR	APRENDER
yo	preguntaba	aprendía
tú	preguntabas	aprendías
él, ella / usted	preguntaba	aprendía
nosotros, nosotras	preguntábamos	aprendíamos
vosotros, vosotras	preguntabais	aprendíais
ellos, ellas / ustedes	preguntaban	aprendían

You can see that the last letters in each corresponding form are the same ( -a, -as, -a, -amos, -ais and -an) but it is as if we had substituded -ba with -í.

And the most interesting thing is that most of these are still the endings in the present tense forms for verbs ending in -ar, but not for verbs ending in -er !

PRESENT TENSE	PREGUNTAR	APRENDER
yo	pregunto	aprendo
tú	preguntas	aprendes
él, ella / usted	pregunta	aprende
nosotros, nosotras	preguntamos	aprendemos
vosotros, vosotras	preguntáis	aprendéis
ellos, ellas / ustedes	preguntan	aprenden

Again, this information is just intended for you to gain clarity of what is actually happening in the conjugation patterns, but you'll have to memorize them as they are.

You can see that the form for yo, and the form for and él, ella / usted are the same again (aprendía).

The same as in the -ar pattern, there are no changes in the stress position here. The stressed syllable coincides with the stressed syllable in the infinitive.

However, here all the forms have a graphic accent. According to the accentuation rules, if two consecutive vowels are separated in different syllables by stressing an -i or a -u, we need to write an accent on it.

And, as you can see, all the forms in the imperfect tense of regular verbs ending in -er present a stressed -i separated from an -a.

Imperfect Tense conjugation of Spanish verbs ending in -ir

Now let's study the conjugation of a verb ending in -ir, such as repartir [to distribute]:

	IMPERFECT TENSE - indicative
yo	repartía
tú	repartías
él, ella / usted	repartía
nosotros, nosotras	repartíamos
vosotros, vosotras	repartíais
ellos, ellas / ustedes	repartían

The conjugation pattern is the same one as for verbs ending in -er.

Since this time the infinitive ends in -ir, we can say that all forms keep the thematic vowel: -i.

You can see that the form for yo, and the form for and él, ella / usted are the same again (repartía).

The same as in the -er pattern (and the -ar pattern, for that matter) there are no changes in stress position here. The stressed syllable coincides with the stressed syllable in the infinitive.

And the same as in the -er pattern, all the forms have a graphic accent. According to the accentuation rules, if two consecutive vowels are separated in different syllables by stressing an -i or a -u, we need to write an accent on it.

You can now compare the three patterns:

	preguntar	aprender	repartir
yo	preguntaba	aprendía	repartía
tú	preguntabas	aprendías	repartías
él, ella / usted	preguntaba	aprendía	repartía
nosotros, nosotras	preguntábamos	aprendíamos	repartíamos
vosotros, vosotras	preguntabais	aprendíais	repartíais
ellos, ellas / ustedes	preguntaban	aprendían	repartían

[You can review the lesson about the present tense conjugation patterns through this link.]

[You can review the lesson about the preterite tense conjugation patterns through this link.]

Start Studying

Remember that the goal of these remarks is to make it easier for you to memorize the different forms. The more details you can consciously think about when you start, the easier it will be for you to recall each form. Later, you will start to remember them without thinking about any of these data.

Now you can start studying each pattern by observing the imperfect tense conjugation of different regular verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir.

Visit our Verb Conjugation Index to look for them.

Remember that, in the Verb Conjugation Index, verbs marked with a * are irregular.