The Imperfect Tense; Preterite and Imperfect Unidad 4 Lección 1
The Imperfect Tense Use the imperfect tense to: talk about something that was happening talk about something you used to do say how old someone was tell what time it was
regular -ar endings -aba -ábamos -abas -abais -aba -aban
regular -er/-ir endings -ía -íamos -ías -íais -ía -ían
irregular imperfect ser era éramos eras erais era eran
irregular imperfect ir iba íbamos ibas ibais iba iban
irregular imperfect ver veía veíamos veías veíais veía veían
Preterite and Imperfect Use the preterite if the action started and ended at a definite time. Use the imperfect to talk about past actions without saying when they began or ended.
two overlapping events: Use the preterite for the action that occurred (interrupting action). Use the imperfect for what was going on at the time (background action).