Unit 16 · The Imperfect and Telling a Story

Picture Abuela Rosa saying, "Yo caminaba a la escuela" (I used to walk to school). The verb is caminar (to walk). To build the imperfect, drop the -ar to get the stem camin-. Then add the ending for the subject. For yo, the ending is -aba: caminaba. The imperfect is a past tense for actions that were ongoing, repeated or in the background.

Here is the full walk-through with hablar (to speak): yo hablaba, tú hablabas, él or ella hablaba, nosotros hablábamos, vosotros hablabais, ellos hablaban. Notice two things. First, the yo form and the él/ella form are the same: hablaba. Context or a subject pronoun tells you who. Second, only the nosotros form carries a written accent: hablábamos.

English speakers often forget the accent in hablábamos, or they put one where it does not belong, as in "hablába." Say the word aloud: ha-BLÁ-ba-mos. The stress falls on the third syllable from the end, so Spanish spelling needs the accent mark. Every regular -ar verb follows this pattern, including trabajar (to work) and jugar (to play), even though jugar changes its stem in the present. In the imperfect it is simply jugaba.

Abuela Rosa says, "Mi mamá hacía tortillas" (My mom made tortillas, again and again). The verb is hacer (to make or do). Drop the -er to get hac-, then add -ía. Even though hacer is irregular in the present and the preterite, it is regular in the imperfect. That is good news: almost every verb in Spanish is regular here.

The -er and -ir verbs share the exact same endings. Compare comer (to eat) and vivir (to live): comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían; vivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían. Every form has an accent on the í. That accent breaks the i and the a into two syllables: vi-VÍ-a, not vi-VIA.

A common mistake is mixing the two families, as in "comaba" or "vivaba." Remember the rule by the vowel: -ar verbs keep an a sound (-aba), while -er and -ir verbs switch to í (-ía). Another mistake is dropping the accent. Without it, vivia looks like a different word and is misspelled. Verbs like tener (to have) and salir (to go out) follow the pattern too: tenía, salía.

When Abuela Rosa says, "Mi pueblo era pequeño" (My town was small), she uses ser (to be). Ser does not follow the -ía pattern. Its imperfect forms are era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran. Notice that only éramos has an accent, just like hablábamos. The stress falls on the third syllable from the end.

The second irregular is ir (to go): iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban. It looks like an -ar verb even though ir is an -ir verb. "Los domingos, íbamos al mercado" means "On Sundays, we used to go to the market." The third irregular is ver (to see): veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían. Ver just keeps its e before the regular -ía ending.

That is the whole list. Spanish has dozens of irregular verbs in the preterite, but only three in the imperfect. Students sometimes invent forms like "seía" or "iría." Seía does not exist, and iría is the conditional (I would go), a different tense. When you see era, iba or veía, you know you are in the imperfect.

Abuela Rosa describes her plaza: "Había una fuente y había muchos árboles" (There was a fountain and there were many trees). In the present you say hay (there is, there are). In the imperfect, hay becomes había. It comes from the verb haber, and it is one of the most useful words for describing a scene.

English changes the verb for singular and plural: there was, there were. Spanish does not. Había stays the same no matter what follows: había un perro (there was a dog), había tres perros (there were three dogs). A very common error is "habían muchos árboles." Many native speakers say it, but standard Spanish uses the singular había.

Había is perfect for describing a la plaza (town square) or el mercado (the market) in a memory. "En el mercado había frutas, flores y música." (At the market there were fruits, flowers and music.) Once you have había, you can build a whole picture of a place, one detail at a time.

Think about something you did every summer when you were small. Maybe you went to the pool or visited a cousin. In English you might say "I used to swim" or "I would swim every day." In Spanish, one form covers both: nadaba. "Todos los veranos, nadaba en el lago." (Every summer, I used to swim in the lake.)

Words of repetition often travel with the imperfect. Siempre (always), todos los días (every day), cada domingo (every Sunday), a menudo (often) and de vez en cuando (from time to time) all signal a habit. "Mi papá siempre se levantaba a las cinco." (My dad always got up at five.) The habit happened many times, so Spanish uses the imperfect.

Be careful with English would. "I would go to the market" can mean a past habit (imperfect: iba) or something that depends on a condition (conditional: iría). Ask yourself: is this describing what used to happen? If yes, use the imperfect. English speakers who translate would word for word often write iría when they need iba.

Imagine a photo of Abuela Rosa’s house. It does not move, but it has details. "La casa era de adobe. Tenía un patio con macetas. La cocina olía a canela." (The house was made of adobe. It had a patio with flowerpots. The kitchen smelled of cinnamon.) Each verb describes how things were, so each is imperfect.

Physical and personality descriptions also go in the imperfect. "Mi abuelo era alto y callado. Llevaba un sombrero de paja." (My grandfather was tall and quiet. He wore a straw hat.) Use ser for traits: era alto. Use estar for conditions and locations: la casa estaba cerca del río (the house was near the river).

Students sometimes use the preterite for descriptions because it feels like "the" past tense: "La casa fue grande." That sentence sounds odd, as if the house was big for a set time and then stopped. For a description of how something was, choose the imperfect: la casa era grande. Words like el patio and el adobe help you build the setting.

"Cuando tenía siete años, aprendí a nadar." (When I was seven, I learned to swim.) In Spanish you have years, so age uses tener. Age in the past is a background fact, so it uses the imperfect: tenía. Saying "era siete años" is a common mistake from English; Spanish always uses tener for age.

Clock time in the past also uses the imperfect of ser. "Era la una" (It was one o’clock) uses the singular because una is one hour. For every other hour, use the plural: "Eran las ocho" (It was eight o’clock). The time does not start or end in the story; it is simply the setting.

Weather works the same way. "Hacía frío" (It was cold), "hacía sol" (it was sunny), "llovía" (it was raining) and "nevaba" (it was snowing) all describe the conditions. Put age, time and weather together and you have an opening line: "Eran las siete, hacía frío y yo tenía doce años." (It was seven, it was cold and I was twelve.)

Many memories in Spanish begin with the same four words: "Cuando era niña..." or "Cuando era niño..." (When I was a child...). The ending matches the speaker: a girl or woman says niña, a boy or man says niño. Daniela’s grandmother says, "Cuando era niña, vivía en Michoacán." (When I was a girl, I lived in Michoacán.)

The phrase sets a long stretch of time as the background. Everything that fits inside that stretch usually follows in the imperfect too. "Cuando era niño, mi familia tenía una tienda y yo ayudaba después de clases." (When I was a boy, my family had a store and I helped after school.) You can swap in other stages: cuando era joven (when I was young), cuando estaba en primaria (when I was in elementary school).

Michoacán is a state in western Mexico, and many families in Chicago have roots there. Memories are often shared at the table in more than one language. If your relatives mix Spanish and English, that is normal. The pattern still holds: cuando era niño or niña, then imperfect verbs that paint la niñez (childhood).

Spanish has a special verb for habits: soler (to usually do). It is always followed by an infinitive, the basic -ar, -er or -ir form of another verb. "Solía leer antes de dormir" means "I used to read before sleeping." Soler does the job of the habit, and leer names the action.

In the past, soler is almost always in the imperfect: solía, solías, solía, solíamos, solíais, solían. It is a regular -er verb here. "Mis padres solían cenar tarde." (My parents used to have dinner late.) Compare it with the plain imperfect: "Mis padres cenaban tarde." Both are correct and mean nearly the same thing. Solía simply puts a spotlight on the habit.

Two mistakes are common. First, conjugating both verbs: "solía leía." Only soler changes; the second verb stays an infinitive (the unconjugated form). Second, using soler for one event. "Ayer solía correr" does not make sense, because ayer (yesterday) is one day and soler means a habit.

Daniela asks, "¿Estabas contenta en tu pueblo?" (Were you happy in your town?) Her grandmother answers, "Sí, pero a veces extrañaba a mi papá cuando viajaba." (Yes, but sometimes I missed my dad when he traveled.) Feelings that lasted over time, like being happy or missing someone, are states, not events. Spanish puts them in the imperfect.

Verbs of thinking and wanting work the same way. "Pensaba que la ciudad era enorme" (I thought the city was huge). "Quería ser maestra" (I wanted to be a teacher). "No sabía leer" (I didn’t know how to read). Estar with emotions is very common: estaba nerviosa, estaba cansado, estábamos emocionados (we were excited).

Watch for the English word "was." It can become era, estaba, fue or estuvo, depending on the meaning. For a feeling or condition in the background, estaba is usually right: "Estaba triste" (I was sad). Choosing fue for a feeling is a common error. Save the preterite for a feeling that began at a clear moment, which you will study in the next chapter.

Think of a movie. Before anything happens, the camera shows the setting: rain, a dark house, a boy reading. That is the imperfect: era tarde, llovía, Marco leía. Then something happens: the lights go out, a noise, footsteps. Those events are the preterite: se fue la luz, oí un ruido, bajé. The imperfect is the stage; the preterite is the plot.

The preterite shows actions as complete, with a beginning or an end in view. Each one moves the story to its next step. "Tomé la linterna, bajé la escalera y abrí la puerta." (I grabbed the flashlight, went down the stairs and opened the door.) If you can put "and then" between the verbs, they are probably preterite.

The imperfect shows actions in progress or states with no clear beginning or end. "Hacía frío y todos dormían." (It was cold and everyone was sleeping.) Nothing moves forward; the camera just looks around. The difference between these two views of an action is called el aspecto (aspect). English marks it less clearly, which is why this choice takes practice.

"Leía cuando sonó el teléfono." (I was reading when the phone rang.) Two things happen in this sentence. Reading was already going on; it is the background, so it is imperfect. The phone ringing cut in at one moment; it is the event, so it is preterite. The word cuando (when) often links the two.

You can flip the order and keep the same tenses. "Cuando sonó el teléfono, yo leía." Or use an interruption with another subject: "Lucía comía cuando se fue la luz." (Lucía was eating when the power went out.) A good test: which action was already in progress? That one is imperfect. Which one happened suddenly? That one is preterite.

English speakers sometimes put both verbs in the preterite: "Leí cuando sonó el teléfono." That means "I read when the phone rang," as if you started reading because of the call. English "was -ing" is a strong hint for the imperfect. Words like de repente (suddenly) usually point to the preterite event that interrupts.

"Mientras yo leía, Lucía veía una película." (While I was reading, Lucía was watching a movie.) Neither action interrupts the other. Both were in progress at the same time, like two cameras showing two rooms. When two background actions run side by side, both take the imperfect. Mientras means while.

Compare these two sentences. "Mientras mamá cocinaba, papá lavaba los platos." (While Mom was cooking, Dad was washing the dishes.) Both actions are ongoing. "Mientras mamá cocinaba, sonó el teléfono." (While Mom was cooking, the phone rang.) Now the second action is an interruption, so it switches to the preterite.

Mientras usually pairs with the imperfect for the action in progress. A common error is writing "mientras cociné," which sounds like a single finished act. You can also use estar in the imperfect with a gerund, the -ando or -iendo form: "Estaba leyendo" (I was reading). It stresses that the action was in the middle of happening, just like en ese momento (at that moment).

Some time words point to a specific moment or a finished block of time. Ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), el sábado (on Saturday), la semana pasada (last week), una vez (once) and de repente (suddenly) all pin an action to a clear time. "Anoche se fue la luz." (Last night the power went out.)

Phrases with a clear length or count also call for the preterite. "Viví en Morelia tres años" (I lived in Morelia for three years) treats the three years as a closed block. "Llamé dos veces" (I called twice) counts the events. "Por fin terminé" (I finally finished) marks an ending.

Clue words are helpful, but they are not magic. They show what is usually true. The real question is always how the speaker sees the action: as a complete event or as ongoing background. Still, if you see ayer, anoche or de repente, check your verb. Nine times out of ten, the preterite is the right choice.

The imperfect has its own clue words. Words of habit, like siempre, todos los días, cada verano (every summer), generalmente (usually) and a menudo (often), point to repeated actions. "Cada verano visitábamos a mis abuelos." (Every summer we used to visit my grandparents.)

Words that stretch time also point to the imperfect: mientras (while), de niño (as a child), en aquella época (back then) and todavía (still). "En aquella época no había internet en el pueblo." (Back then there was no internet in the town.) These phrases open a window onto a long stretch of time rather than one moment.

Some words can go either way. Cuando can introduce background (cuando era niño) or an event (cuando sonó el teléfono). Siempre can even take the preterite for a finished period: "Siempre fue mi mejor amigo" (He was always my best friend, and that time is over). Use clues as hints, then ask: scene or plot?

Look at two sentences. "Iba a la biblioteca" means "I was going to the library" or "I used to go to the library." "Fui a la biblioteca" means "I went to the library," one completed trip. Same verb, same subject, different story. The tense tells the listener how to picture the action.

Here is another pair. "Mi abuela cocinaba" says she used to cook, or she was cooking when something else happened. "Mi abuela cocinó" says she cooked, and the meal was done. Adding a clue helps: "Mi abuela cocinaba cuando llegamos" (She was cooking when we arrived) versus "Mi abuela cocinó y luego comimos" (She cooked and then we ate).

In Lucía’s story, both tenses matter. "Fui a la cocina" (I went to the kitchen) is a trip she finished. "Iba a la cocina cuando oí el ruido" (I was going to the kitchen when I heard the noise) freezes her in the hallway. Good storytellers use this contraste (contrast) on purpose to control the ritmo (pace) of a story.

Some verbs change meaning when you switch tenses. Conocer (to know a person or place) is one. "Conocía a Lucía" (I knew Lucía) describes an ongoing acquaintance. "Conocí a Lucía en 2019" (I met Lucía in 2019) marks the moment the knowing began. In the preterite, conocer usually means met.

Saber (to know a fact) shifts too. "Sabía la verdad" (I knew the truth) is a background state. "Supe la verdad" (I found out the truth) marks the moment the knowledge arrived. The preterite of saber is irregular: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron, with no written accents.

English uses different verbs here, so learners often translate "met" with encontré. Encontrar means to find, or to run into by chance. For meeting someone for the first time, Spanish uses conocí. And for "I found out," use supe or me enteré, not "sabí," which does not exist.

Querer (to want) in the imperfect describes a wish: "Quería salir" (I wanted to go out). In the preterite, it becomes an action. "Quise abrir la puerta" suggests I tried to open the door. In the negative, the shift is stronger: "No quise comer" means I refused to eat. Preterite forms: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron.

Poder (to be able to) follows a similar path. "Podía correr rápido" (I could run fast) describes a general ability. "Pude terminar" means I managed to finish, and it happened. "No pude dormir" means I tried and failed to sleep. Preterite forms: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron.

In the storm story, Marco says, "Quise encender la luz, pero no pude." (I tried to turn on the light, but I couldn’t.) Lucía adds, "No quise decir nada." (I refused to say anything.) If Marco had said "no podía," it would sound like a general or ongoing inability. The preterite pins it to one failed attempt.

A fábula (fable) is a short story, often with animals, that teaches a lesson. Many fables in Spanish begin with "Había una vez..." (Once upon a time there was...). Había sets the scene. Then more imperfect verbs describe the characters: "Había una vez una liebre que era muy rápida y muy orgullosa." (Once upon a time there was a hare who was very fast and very proud.)

Then something happens, and the preterite takes over. "Un día, la liebre vio a una tortuga y se rió de ella. La tortuga la desafió a una carrera." (One day, the hare saw a tortoise and laughed at her. The tortoise challenged her to a race.) Un día (one day) is a classic signal that the plot is starting.

In the middle, the two tenses mix. "Mientras la tortuga caminaba despacio, la liebre dormía bajo un árbol. Cuando se despertó, la tortuga ya cruzaba la meta." (While the tortoise walked slowly, the hare was sleeping under a tree. When she woke up, the tortoise was already crossing the finish line.) The story ends with la moraleja (the moral): "Poco a poco se llega lejos." (Little by little you go far.)

La leyenda (the legend) of La Llorona (the Weeping Woman) is told across Mexico, the U.S. Southwest and other parts of Latin America. Versions differ from town to town and family to family. In outline, a woman loses her children near a river, and afterward her spirit wanders at night, crying for them. Many families tell it to warn children to stay away from the water after dark.

Tellers often start with the setting in the imperfect. "Hace muchos años, en un pueblo junto a un río, vivía una mujer." (Many years ago, in a town beside a river, there lived a woman.) The key events move to the preterite: "Un día, perdió a sus hijos en el río." (One day, she lost her children in the river.)

Then the story returns to the imperfect to describe what happens again and again. "Desde entonces, todas las noches se oía un llanto junto al agua." (Since then, every night a cry could be heard by the water.) Because the legend has so many versions, ask your family how they tell it. Notice which verbs set the mood and which ones tell what happened.