The imperfect tense indicates that the action took place in the past, but it DOES NOT give any indication as to whether the action ended or not; either because the action is still taking place, or because whether the action has ended or not is irrelevant. Because the imperfect does not refer to the specific time an action took place, we use it to narrate or describe past actions:

- Llovía mucho cuando llamaste. (It was raining hard when you called.)
- En ésa época yo estudiaba español todos los días.
  (At that time I studied Spanish every day.)
- La ventana estaba abierta cuando llegaste.
  (The window was open when you arrived.)
- Jaime estaba viendo televisión mientras cenábamos.
  (Jaime was watching television while we were having dinner.)

  Note that the imperfecto expresses a period of time in relation to another action or the time of speaking. The two actions may be simultaneous (Jaime estaba viendo televisión mientras cenábamos), or one action may take place at a particular point in time while the other is going on (Llovía mucho cuando llamaste).

  The imperfect tense is formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the infinitive:

  The imperfect is also used to indicate actions that are repeated over time:
- En esa época jugábamos y jugábamos sin parar.
  (At that time we (used to) play and play endlessly.)

  We also use the imperfect to ask questions in a polite manner:
- ¿Quería usted algo de comer?  (Did you want something to eat?)
- Perdón, pero no le escuché. ¿Preguntaba algo?
  (I apologize, but I did not listen to you. Did you ask anything?)

 The imperfect is also used as the equivalent of "would" + a verb, when English speakers talk about actions that took place in the past:
- Yo comía mucho en ese restaurante.
   (I would (used to) eat a lot in that restaurant.)
- Compraba un libro todos los viernes.
  (I would (used to) buy a book every Friday.)

  Note that the use of "would" in these cases is not the conditional, as there is no condition to be met. "Compraba un libro" DOES NOT mean "I would buy a book". To review the conditional, click here.

  Let me finish this section by pointing out the difference between the imperfect and the simple past. Think of the simple past as a camera that takes snapshots, and think of the imperfect tense as a video camera that records entire periods of time. With that in mind, review the following sentences:

- Íbamos a salir (a length of time) cuando llegaste (a single moment in time).
  (We were about to go out when you arrived.)
- Juana preparó la cena (snapshot) mientras hablaba (unspecified length of time)   con Isabel.
  (Juana prepared dinner while she talked (was talking) to Isabel.)
- José caminaba en la calle (video camera) cuando ocurrió el accidente (snapshot).
  (José was walking in the street when the accident took place.)

 Click here to practice the imperfect tense and many other
aspects of Spanish grammar.