EL IMPERFECTO

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EL IMPERFECTO
The imperfect is the other past tense in Spanish.
Its uses are different from those of the
preterit. They are used in different contexts and
emphasize the continuation of an action in the
past. To form the imperfect tense, remove the
infinitive endings (-ar, -er, and -ir) and add
the following conjugated endings
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USES OF THE IMPERFECT TENSE 1. The Spanish
imperfect tense has several meanings in English
the Spanish imperfect is used to describe actions
that occurred repeatedly or habitually in the
past. To communicate the same idea in English,
the phrases used to or would, past continuous, or
simple past are used.
NOTE in the above example, the imperfect is also
used to describe a past action, which is still
going on in the past, or an action whose
beginning and ending are NOT specified or
important. The equivalent in English is was or
were present participle.
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2. The imperfect tense is used to describe
physical conditions or characteristics of people
and things in the past EXAMPLES La compañía
tenía muchos problemas económicos./ The company
had a lot of economic problems. El hijo de
Susana era muy inteligente./ Susan's son was very
intelligent.
3. It is also used to express ongoing emotional
or mental states, desires and opinions in the
past EXAMPLES Nuestra casa matriz quería
fusionar nuestra sucursal con otra compañía./ Our
parent company wanted to merge our branch with
another company. Los trabajadores se sentían
felices con el nuevo jefe./ The workers were
happy with their new boss. Nosotros creíamos que
la fusión no funcionaba./ We believed that the
merger was not working.
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4. The imperfect is used to express time or age
in the past EXAMPLES Eran las tres de la
tarde./ It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Tenía
un año cuando nos mudamos a la Argentina./ I was
a year-old when we moved to Argentina. 5. The
imperfect is used with the conjunction mientras/
while to express 2 or more ongoing and
simultaneous actions EXAMPLE La empresa quería
expandir el mercado mientras que el departamento
de justicias la demandaba./ The company was
trying to expand its market while the Justice
Department was suing them.
6. It is also used to describe a scene in the
past EXAMPLES La noche estaba calurosa./ The
night was hot. El paisaje era maravilloso./ The
scenery was marvelous.
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7. Imperfect Tense Irregular Verbs.  
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• DIFERENCES BETWEEN THE PRETERIT AND THE IMPERFECT
• The following verbs communicate different ideas
  when said in the preterit and the imperfect
  tense
• Poder / to be able to
• El inmigrante ilegal podía trabajar a
  escondidas./ The illegal immigrant was able to
  work secretly.
• Él pudo trabajar./ He did manage to work. (It
  adds more emphasis)
• Conocer / to meet
• El socio conocía a todos los empleados./ The
  partner used to know all of the employees.
• Él conoció a todos los empleados el mes pasado./
  He met all of the employees last month.
• Saber / to know
• Sabía la clave de acceso./ I knew the password.
• Supe la clave de acceso./ I found out the
  password.
• Querer / to want, desire
• Mi cuñada no quería mudarse a los Estados
  Unidos./ My sister-in-law did not want to move to
  the US.
• Ella no quiso mudarse./ She refused to move.