Spanish Verb Conjugation: Imperfect Tense: AR Verbs

To make the imperfect forms, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add the endings given above.

To see the imperfect tense conjugated forms of these verbs, click on a pronoun below:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

Imperfect tense: -AR verb conjugation

Yo form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aba to the stem.

		At some point in the past, this is what I would often do:	At some point in the past, I used to do this but may not be able to any more:	At some point in the past, this was the scenario for an event to take place:	deutsch
cantar	cantaba	I would sing, chant	I used to sing, chant	I was singing, chanting	ich sang
continuar	continuaba	I would continue	I used to continue	I was continuing	ich machte weiter
encontrar	encontraba	I would meet, encounter	I used to meet, encounter	I was meeting, encountering	ich traf
esquiar	esquiaba	I would ski	I used to ski	I was skiing	ich fuhr/lief ski
hablar	hablaba	I would speak	I used to speak	I was speaking	ich sprach
jugar	jugaba	I would play	I used to play	I was playing	ich spielte
pensar	pensaba	I would think	I used to think	I was thinking	ich dachte
preguntar	preguntaba	I would ask (questions)	I used to ask (questions)	I was asking (questions)	ich fragte
trabajar	trabajaba	I would work, labor	I used to work, labor	I was working, laboring	ich arbeitete

The pronoun YO needs to be stated more frequently in the imperfect tense, because the same form is used for él, ella, & Usted.

Once it is clear that the conversation is continuing with YO being the subject, you can leave it out.

The YO becomes understood, because of the ending and the context of the conversation.

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

Imperfect tense: -AR verb conjugation

Tú form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -abas to the stem.

		At some point in the past, this is what you would often do:	At some point in the past, you used to do this but may not be able to any more:	At some point in the past, this was the scenario for an event to take place:	deutsch

cantar	cantabas	you would sing, chant	you used to sing, chant	you were singing, chanting	du sangst
continuar	continuabas	you would continue	you used to continue	you were continuing	du machtest weiter
encontrar	encontrabas	you would meet, encounter	you used to meet, encounter	you were meeting, encountering	du trafst
esquiar	esquiabas	you would ski	you used to ski	you were skiing	du fuhrst/liefst ski
hablar	hablabas	you would speak	you used to speak	you were speaking	du sprachst
jugar	jugabas	you would play	you used to play	you were playing	du spieltest
pensar	pensabas	you would think	you used to think	you were thinking	du dachtest
preguntar	preguntabas	you would ask (questions)	you used to ask (questions)	you were asking (questions)	du fragtest
trabajar	trabajabas	you would work, labor	you used to work, labor	you were working, laboring	du arbeitetest

The pronoun TÚ never needs to be used, since this form can only imply a familiar you.

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

Imperfect tense: -AR verb conjugation

Él form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aba to the stem.

		At some point in the past, this is what he would often do:	At some point in the past, he used to do this but may not be able to any more:	At some point in the past, this was the scenario for an event to take place:	deutsch
cantar	cantaba	he would sing, chant	he used to sing, chant	he was singing, chanting	er sang
continuar	continuaba	he would continue	he used to continue	he was continuing	er machte weiter
encontrar	encontraba	he would meet, encounter	he used to meet, encounter	he was meeting, encountering	er traf
esquiar	esquiaba	he would ski	he used to ski	he was skiing	er fuhr/lief ski
hablar	hablaba	he would speak	he used to speak	he was speaking	er sprach
jugar	jugaba	he would play	he used to play	he was playing	er spielte
pensar	pensaba	he would think	he used to think	he was thinking	er dachte
preguntar	preguntaba	he would ask (questions)	he used to ask (questions)	he was asking (questions)	er fragte
trabajar	trabajaba	he would work, labor	he used to work, labor	he was working, laboring	er arbeitete

The pronoun ÉL needs to be stated more frequently in the imperfect tense, because the same form is used for yo, ella, & Usted.

Once it is clear that the conversation is continuing with ÉL being the subject, you can leave it out.

The ÉL becomes understood, because of the ending and the context of the conversation.

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

Imperfect tense: -AR verb conjugation

Ella form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aba to the stem.

		At some point in the past, this is what she would often do:	At some point in the past, she used to do this but may not be able to any more:	At some point in the past, this was the scenario for an event to take place:	deutsch
cantar	cantaba	she would sing, chant	she used to sing, chant	she was singing, chanting	sie sang
continuar	continuaba	she would continue	she used to continue	she was continuing	sie machte weiter
encontrar	encontraba	she would meet, encounter	she used to meet, encounter	she was meeting, encountering	sie traf
esquiar	esquiaba	she would ski	she used to ski	she was skiing	sie fuhr/lief ski
hablar	hablaba	she would speak	she used to speak	she was speaking	sie sprach
jugar	jugaba	she would play	she used to play	she was playing	sie spielte
pensar	pensaba	she would think	she used to think	she was thinking	sie dachte
preguntar	preguntaba	she would ask (questions)	she used to ask (questions)	she was asking (questions)	sie fragte
trabajar	trabajaba	she would work, labor	she used to work, labor	she was working, laboring	sie arbeitete

The pronoun ELLA needs to be stated more frequently in the imperfect tense, because the same form is used for yo, él, & Usted.

Once it is clear that the conversation is continuing with ELLA being the subject, you can leave it out.