explain how in spanish imperfect is used to talk about the past

Answer 1

In Spanish, the imperfect tense is used to talk about ongoing or repeated past actions or events. It is used to describe a situation, background information, or a habitual action in the past. It is often used to set the stage or provide context for a specific event that occurred in the past.

The imperfect tense is formed by adding specific endings to the stem of the verb. The endings for -ar verbs are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban; for -er and -ir verbs, the endings are -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.

Here are some examples:

1. Cuando era niño, siempre jugaba en el parque. - When I was a child, I always used to play in the park.
- "Era" (imperfect of "ser") and "jugaba" (imperfect of "jugar") describe ongoing actions or states in the past.

2. Durante las vacaciones, íbamos a la playa todos los años. - During vacations, we used to go to the beach every year.
- "Íbamos" (imperfect of "ir") describes a repeated action in the past.

3. Hacía mucho calor aquel verano. - It was very hot that summer.
- "Hacía" (imperfect of "hacer") describes the prevailing condition or situation in the past.

4. Él siempre llegaba tarde a la clase. - He always used to arrive late to class.
- "Llegaba" (imperfect of "llegar") describes a habitual action in the past.

In summary, the imperfect tense is used in Spanish to express ongoing or repeated actions, habits, and descriptions of the past. It provides a broad context and sets the stage for other specific actions or events in the past.