Imprefect ER IR Verbs Spanish Verb Conjugation
Spanish mini-course
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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 |