Imprefect ER IR Verbs Spanish Verb Conjugation
Spanish mini-course
-
-
-
-
CourseFREE Course
Let’s take a look at some of these Spanish Verbs:
| Yo | ía | nosotros | íamos |
| tú | ías | vosotros (Tú Plural) (used only in Spain) | íais |
| 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 | ||
| usted | ustedes (uds.) |
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 (tú plural – used only in Spain) |
(Vosotros) comíais |
| He was eating She was speaking and You were speaking |
(Él) comía (Ella) comía (Ud.) comía |
They (m.) were eating They (f.) were eating All of were eating |
(Ellos) comían (Ellas) 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 |
Spanish 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 |