Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect Tense
What are the irregular verbs in the imperfect tense?
Ver, Ir, and Ser are the irregular verbs in the imperfect tense.
Verbs in the Imperfect Tense
In Spanish, the imperfect tense is used to talk about past actions that were repeated, ongoing, or continuous in the past. It is also used to describe physical and emotional states in the past. Regular verbs in the imperfect tense follow a specific pattern of conjugation, but there are some irregular verbs that do not follow this pattern.
Irregular Verbs
Ver, Ir, and Ser are three irregular verbs in the imperfect tense. Let's take a closer look at each of these verbs:
Ver (to see)
The verb "ver" in the imperfect tense has an irregular stem: "ve-" instead of the expected "v-" for regular -er verbs. Here are the conjugations of "ver" in the imperfect tense:
- Yo veía (I saw)
- Tú veías (You saw)
- Él/Ella/Usted veía (He/She/You saw)
- Nosotros/as veíamos (We saw)
- Vosotros/as veíais (You all saw)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes veían (They/You all saw)
Ir (to go)
The verb "ir" in the imperfect tense also has an irregular stem: "ib-" instead of the expected "i-" for regular -ir verbs. Here are the conjugations of "ir" in the imperfect tense:
- Yo iba (I went)
- Tú ibas (You went)
- Él/Ella/Usted iba (He/She/You went)
- Nosotros/as íbamos (We went)
- Vosotros/as ibais (You all went)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes iban (They/You all went)
Ser (to be)
The verb "ser" in the imperfect tense also has an irregular stem: "er-" instead of the expected "s-" for regular -er verbs. Here are the conjugations of "ser" in the imperfect tense:
- Yo era (I was)
- Tú eras (You were)
- Él/Ella/Usted era (He/She/You were)
- Nosotros/as éramos (We were)
- Vosotros/as erais (You all were)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes eran (They/You all were)
It is important to memorize these irregular verbs and their conjugations in the imperfect tense to properly communicate in Spanish and express actions in the past.