Spanish Imperfect Practice
Fill in the blank with the verb in the imperfect or choose from three, then listen to the whole sentence. Below, a worksheet with an answer key you can print, with a set just for preterite vs imperfect.
What you need to know
- The imperfect is formed with -aba for -ar verbs (hablaba, spelled with a b) and with -ía for -er and -ir verbs (comía, vivía, with an accent mark on the í).
- Only three verbs are irregular: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía). Verbs that are irregular in the preterite, like tener, venir and poner, are regular here (tenía, venía, ponía).
- It describes the background, habits and what was going on, like English "used to" and "was doing". A single finished event goes in the preterite (de niño iba vs. ayer fui).
Spanish Without Borders · Spanish Imperfect Practice · spanishwithoutborders.com/exercises/imperfect/
Imperfect in Spanish: worksheet with answer key
Do them on paper, in your head or printed out: answer first, then open each answer to check.
Name: ______________________________ Date: ____/____/______
Conjugate in the imperfect
Fill in the blank with the verb in parentheses.
- Yo ______ (estudiar) por las noches.
show answer
estudiaba
- Tú ______ (comer) muy rápido.
show answer
comías
- Ella ______ (ser) muy tímida.
show answer
era · ser: irregular
- Nosotros ______ (ir) al colegio en bici.
show answer
íbamos · ir: irregular
- Ellos ______ (ver) la tele todas las tardes.
show answer
veían · ver: irregular
Preterite or imperfect?
A finished event: preterite. Background, habit or what was going on: imperfect.
- Ayer ______ (ir, yo) al médico.
show answer
fui · one event, ayer: preterite
- De niño ______ (ir, yo) al parque cada tarde.
show answer
iba · habit: imperfect
- ______ (hacer) sol cuando salimos.
show answer
Hacía · background: imperfect
- Cuando llegué, todos ______ (dormir).
show answer
dormían · was going on: imperfect
- El año pasado ______ (vivir, nosotros) en Lima.
show answer
vivimos · a closed period of time: preterite
Fix the mistake
- Yo hablava con mi abuela.
show answer
Yo hablaba con mi abuela.
- Antes yo ía a la playa.
show answer
Antes yo iba a la playa.
- Habían muchas personas en la fiesta.
show answer
Había muchas personas en la fiesta.
Answer key
- estudiaba
- comías
- era
- íbamos
- veían
- fui
- iba
- Hacía
- dormían
- vivimos
- Yo hablaba con mi abuela.
- Antes yo iba a la playa.
- Había muchas personas en la fiesta.
Imperfect in Spanish: common questions
Which verbs are irregular in the Spanish imperfect?
Only three: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía). Every other verb is regular, including tener (tenía), venir (venía) and poner (ponía), which are irregular in the preterite.
How do I know when to use the imperfect or the preterite?
Try it in English. If "used to" or "was ...ing" fits, it is the imperfect (iba = I used to go, llovía = it was raining). If it is one finished event, it is the preterite (fui = I went, llovió = it rained). Careful: English "I went to the park every day" is still a habit, so Spanish says iba.
Is it era or estaba?
Both are the imperfect, of ser and estar, and the usual rules still apply. Use era for what someone or something was like (La casa era grande) and estaba for a state or a location at that time (La casa estaba sucia, Estaba en Lima).
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