Pretérito imperfecto: cuando era pequeño (vídeo)

The imperfect gives us a photograph of the past. Luca, from Slovenia, describes his childhood: a tiny village, a long walk to school and his grandmother's farm.

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Key points

The imperfect describes how things were and what we used to do: Vivía en un pueblo muy pequeño.
Regular endings: -ar verbs take -aba (jugaba, andábamos); -er and -ir verbs take -ía (vivía, tenía).
Había is the imperfect of hay: Había una escuela en un pueblo más grande.
A typical question: ¿Cómo era tu vida cuando eras pequeño?

Frequent doubts

Which verbs are irregular in the imperfect?

Only three: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía). All the others are regular.

How do I say used to in Spanish?

Use the imperfect (De niño jugaba en el bosque) or soler in the imperfect + infinitive (Solía jugar en el bosque).

Imperfect or indefinido?

The imperfect describes situations and habits in the past; the indefinido tells completed events: Vivía en un pueblo; un día nos mudamos a la ciudad.

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Key points

Frequent doubts

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