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All 14 Flashcards — Imperfect
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Question
el pretérito imperfecto
Answer
the imperfect (the past for habits, description and ongoing actions)
Question
hablar → yo
Answer
hablaba (I used to speak / I was speaking)
Question
comer → yo
Answer
comía (I used to eat)
Question
vivir → nosotros
Answer
vivíamos (we used to live)
Question
hablar → ellos / ustedes
Answer
hablaban (they / you-all used to speak)
Question
comer → tú
Answer
comías (you used to eat)
Question
ser → imperfecto
Answer
era (I was / it was)
Question
ir → imperfecto
Answer
iba (I used to go)
Question
ver → imperfecto
Answer
veía (I used to see)
Question
hacer → imperfecto (tiempo)
Answer
hacía (it was — e.g. hacía frío, it was cold)
Question
When do you use the imperfect?
Answer
For past habits, descriptions and background, age/time/weather, and «was -ing» — actions that repeat, stretch or describe rather than finish once.
Question
What are the only three irregular imperfect verbs?
Answer
ser → era, ir → iba, ver → veía. Every other verb is regular.
Question
Habit in the past: preterite or imperfect?
Answer
Imperfect — «todos los días iba al colegio». Using the preterite «fui» would mean it happened just once.
Question
Why must «comía» keep its accent?
Answer
The -er/-ir imperfect ending is always «-ía» with a tilde; dropping it («comia») leaves the wrong vowel sound and is a marked error.
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Full study notes for Imperfect
Topic 3.2 hub
Past tenses
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Spanish B exam skills
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