Spanish imperfect tense: endings and uses

The view from inside a past situation

The imperfect describes what was happening, what used to happen, or what a past situation was like without presenting its endpoint.

• Cuando era niño, jugaba afuera.When I was a child, I used to play outside.
• Llovía y hacía frío.It was raining and it was cold.

Endings and irregular verbs

Regular -ar verbs use -aba endings; -er and -ir verbs use -ía endings. Only ser, ir, and ver are irregular in the imperfect.