Imprefect ER IR Verbs — Spanish Verb Conjugation
Bienvenido, in this lesson, you’ll learn the endings for “er ir” Back verbs. These endings are very different from the AR Back verb endings that was based on “a-b-a” or “aba”. The Back verb endings for ER IR verbs is based on “í-a” or “ía”. Let’s take a look.
Yo ía |
nosotros íamos |
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tú ías |
vosotros |
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Él |
ía Notice that just like with “ar” ending “Back” verbs, “er/ir” back verbs also have the same endings for “Yo” and for “Él/Ella and Ud.” |
ellos |
ían |
Ella |
ellas |
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usted |
ustedes (uds.) |
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Let’s review those again.
ía ías ía íamos íais ían
Now let’s put the endings on the verb “comer”. Remember, “comer” means “to eat”.
| I was eating | (Yo) comía |
We were eating |
(Nosotros) comíamos |
Juan or María, You were eating |
(Tú) comías |
Now the Vosotros form which is |
(Vosotros) comíais |
He was eating |
(Él) comía (Ud.) comía |
They (m.) were eating |
(Ellos) comían (Uds.) comían |
Now take a look at the “Back” endings one more time and repeat them with Maria.
ía ías ía íamos íais ían
Now let’s try a few of these using the chart on the screen and the verb “escribir”.
I was writing / (yo escrib(ir) |
Escribía |
You used to write / (tú escrib(ir) |
Escribías |
He wrote sometimes/ (él escrib(ir) |
Escribía |
She was writing / (ella escrib(ir) |
Escribía |
You used to write / (Ud. escrib(ir) |
Escribía |
We wrote (all the time) / (Nosotros escrib(ir) |
Escribíamos |
They (m.) were writing / (ellos escrib(ir) |
Escribían |
They (f.) used to write / (ellas escrib(ir) |
Escribían |
All of you were writing / (Uds. escrib(ir) |
Escribían |
Remember, that the Uds form of “Escribían” means:
“You (plural) were writing.”
“You (plural) used to write”
“You (plural) wrote sometimes"
“on Thursdays”
Or “frequently”
Remember, the “Back” or “Imperfect” tense represent an indefinite period of time without a specific starting or ending point.
Now, since repetition is so important, let’s repeat the endings again.
ía ías ía íamos íais ían
Now we’ll practice with a few different verbs. Are you ready?
I used to sell… |
(Yo) vendía |
You were living in… – (using “tú”) |
(Tú) vivías en… |
He always promised |
(Él) siempre prometía |
She used to run |
(Ella) corría |
You were deciding… |
(Ud.) decidía |
We used open it… |
(Nosotros) lo abríamos |
They learned something every week |
(Ellos) aprendían algo cada semana |
All of you were eating |
(Uds.) comían |
Review
I was believing |
creía |
(Marta) You used to prefer |
prefería |
He was eating |
comía |
She was learning |
aprendía |
(Sra. Benites) You used owe |
debía |
We always promised him |
lo prometíamos |
They were reading |
leían |
All of you used to run |
corrían |
I saw her (all the time) |
la veía |
(Martín) You were selling |
vendía |
He used to surprise me |
me sorprendía |
She asked for it (every day) |
lo pedía |
(Sr. Mendes) You were attending |
asistía |
We used to decide |
decidíamos |
They went up (twice a week) |
subían |
All of you were living (in Spain) |
vivían |
I used to open it |
lo abría |
(Marta) You received them (often) |
los recibías |
He was writing |
escribía |
She used to follow him |
lo seguía |
(Sra. Benites) You were destroying it! |
lo destruía |
We used to want it |
lo queríamos |
They lost (frequently) |
perdían |
All of you were sleeping |
dormían |
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