Imperfect Tense Flashcards
(109 cards)
1
Q
I used to speak Spanish.
(the imperfect tense is used to express continuance as well as actions in the past that are habitual)
A
Yo hablaba español.
(to form the imperfect tense of regular -ar verbs, the ending is dropped and the appropriate ending is added)
2
Q
Who used to prepare the meal?
A
¿Quién preparaba la comida?
3
Q
Our parents used to work a lot.
A
Nuestros padres trabajaban mucho.
4
Q
You used to sing very well.
(to a friend)
A
Tú cantabas muy bien.
cantar → to sing
5
Q
Where did you used to spend the summers?
(to several people)
A
¿Dónde pasaban Uds. los veranos?
6
Q
We always used to walk through the park.
A
Nosotros siempre andábamos por el parque.
andar → to walk
7
Q
Why did you not used to listen to the radio?
(to a friend)
A
¿Por qué no escuchabas la radio?
escuchar → to listen to
8
Q
I used to play a lot of football.
A
Yo jugaba mucho al fútbol.
9
Q
When I was a boy, I used to go with my dad.
A
Cuándo yo era niño, yo acompañaba a mi papá.
acompañar → to accompany; to go with
10
Q
We used to visit my grandparents.
A
Nosotros visitábamos a mis abuelos.
visitar → to visit
11
Q
I adored my grandparents.
A
Yo adoraba a mis abuelos.
adorar → to adore; to love
12
Q
Grandma always used to give me a present.
A
Abuelita siempre me daba un regalo.
13
Q
Grandad always used to play with me.
A
Abuelito siempre jugaba conmigo.
14
Q
I used to have it very good with my grandparents.
A
Yo lo pasaba muy bien con mis abuelos.
15
Q
Grandma always used to make a meal that I liked.
A
Abuelita siempre preparaba una comida que me gustaba.
gustar → to like; to enjoy
16
Q
She cooked very well.
A
Ella cocinaba muy bien.
cocinar → to cook
17
Q
I remember that even at that time grandad used to help.
A
Yo recuerdo que aún en aquel tiempo abuelito ayudaba.
ayudar → to help
18
Q
While she cooked the stew, he used to prepare the salad or the dessert.
A
Mientras ella cocinaba el guiso, él preparaba la ensalada o el postre.
19
Q
Sometimes I spent the night at my grandparents house.
A
A veces yo pasaba la noche en casa de mis abuelos.
20
Q
Grandma used to put me to bed around ten at night.
A
Abuelita me acostaba a eso de las diez de la noche.
acostar → to put to bed
21
Q
Before I went to bed I used to kiss my grandparents.
A
Antes de acostarme yo besaba a mis abuelitos.
acostarse → to go to bed
22
Q
They were very happy when I used to give them a kiss.
A
Ellos estaban muy contentos cuando yo les daba un besito.
23
Q
And I was also very happy when they used to give me a kiss.
A
Y yo también estaba muy contento cuando ellos me daban un besito.
24
Q
There’s no doubt that we loved each other.
A
No hay duda que nosotros nos adorábamos.
25
Carlos always used to read novels.
Carlos siempre le**ía** novelas.
(to form the imperfect tense of regular **-er** and **-ir** verbs, the ending is dropped and the appropriate ending is added)
26
The gentlemen used to come here very often.
Los señores ven**ían** aquí muy a menudo.
27
Why did you used to eat so much?
| (to a friend)
¿Por qué com**ías** tú tanto?
28
We used to receive a letter each day.
Nosotros recib**íamos** una carta cada día.
29
They used to go out every Friday.
Ellos sal**ían** todos los viernes.
30
You used to know Juan, didn't you?
| (to a friend)
Tú conoc**ías** a Juan, ¿no?
31
I used to learn a lot.
Yo aprend**ía** mucho.
32
He always used to ask me a favour.
Él siempre me ped**ía** un favor.
33
We used to not want to leave.
Nosotros no quer**íamos** salir.
34
Juan used to know the truth.
Juan sab**ía** la verdad.
35
Carlos always used to eat in that restaurant over there.
Carlos siempre com**ía** en aquel restaurante.
36
They used to take a trip to Spain each summer.
Ellos hac**ían** un viaje a España cada verano.
37
I used to set the table each morning.
Yo pon**ía** la mesa cada mañana.
38
The children always used to receive presents.
Los niños siempre recib**ían** regalos.
39
I used to want to take a trip.
Yo quer**ía** hacer un viaje.
40
We weren't asking for anything.
Nosotros no ped**íamos** nada.
41
Where did you used to live?
| (to several people)
¿Dónde viv**ían** Uds.?
42
You used to come back each day at the same time.
(to a friend)
Tú volv**ías** cada día a la misma hora.
43
I read a lot now and I used to read a lot when I was a boy.
Yo leo mucho ahora y yo le**ía** mucho cuando era niño.
44
I eat a lot now and I used to eat a lot when I was a boy.
Yo como mucho ahora y yo com**ía** mucho cuando yo era niño.
45
I learn a lot now and I used to learn a lot when I was a boy.
Yo aprendo mucho ahora y yo aprend**ía** mucho cuando era niño.
46
I know a lot now and I used to know a lot when I was a boy.
Yo sé mucho ahora y yo sab**ía** mucho cuando era niño.
47
I go out a lot now and I used to go out a lot when I was a boy.
Yo salgo mucho ahora y yo sal**ía** mucho cuando era niño.
48
Roberto always used to tell me that he thought that his friends ate and drank too much, but I always used to tell him that I thought he used to eat and drink too much.
Roberto siempre me dec**ía** que él cre**ía** que todos sus amigos com**ían** y beb**ían** demasiado pero yo siempre le dec**ía** a él que yo cre**ía** que él com**ía** y beb**ía** demasiado.
49
They were always saying that they believed everything that they saw, but not everything that they read.
Ellos siempre dec**ían** que cre**ían** todo lo que ve**ían** pero no todo lo que le**ían**.
50
And I used to tell them that I knew and understood perfectly well why they used to say such a thing.
Y yo les dec**ía** que yo sab**ía** y comprend**ía** perfectamente bien por qué dec**ían** tal cosa.
51
I neither believed everything that I used to read and sometimes I couldn't believe everything that I saw.
Yo tampoco cre**ía** todo lo que le**ía** y a veces no pod**ía** creer lo que ve**ía**.
52
They used to go to the mountains every summer.
Ellos **iban** a las montañas cada verano.
(**ir** is irregular in the imperfect tense)
53
We always used to see Juan.
Nosotros siempre v**eíamos** a Juan.
(**ver** is irregular in the imperfect tense)
54
I used to be happy.
Yo **era** feliz.
(**ser** is irregular in the imperfect tense)
55
Juan used to be an engineer.
Juan **era** ingeniero.
56
The boy always used to see his grandparents.
El niño siempre v**eía** a sus abuelos.
57
We always used to go by train.
Nosotros siempre **íbamos** en tren.
58
When I was young, I used to go to the theatre a lot.
Cuando yo **era** joven, yo **iba** mucho al teatro.
59
I used to be very fond of the theatre.
Yo **era** muy aficionada al teatro.
60
I always went to the Municipal Theatre that used to be in the centre of the city.
Siempre **iba** al Teatro Municipal que est**aba** en el centro de la ciudad.
61
I used to stand in line at the box office where I bought my ticket.
Yo hac**ía** cola en la taquilla donde yo compr**aba** mi entrada.
62
As I wasn't rich and I didn't want to pay too much, I used to sit in the paradise because the tickets turned out cheaper.
Como yo no **era** rica y no quer**ía** pagar demasiado, yo me sent**aba** en el paraíso porque las entradas result**aban** más baratas.
63
The thing is that (they) cost me less.
Es que (ellas) me cost**aban** menos.
64
In the paradise I used to see a lot of friends because they were poor students too.
En el paraíso yo v**eía** a muchos amigos porque ellos también **eran** estudiantes pobres.
65
We used to go to the theatre with so much frequency because we followed a course in contemporary theatre at the university.
Nosotros **íbamos** al teatro con tanta frecuencia porque segu**íamos** un curso de teatro contemporáneo en la universidad.
66
Juanito used to come here every day.
Juanito ven**ía** aquí **todos los días**.
(some adverbial expressions indicate continuance and therefore demand the use of the imperfect)
67
The boats used to leave from the port each morning.
Los barcos sal**ían** del puerto **cada mañana**.
68
We used to go to the beach very often.
**Íbamos** a la playa muy **a menudo**.
69
You used to travel frequently.
| (to a friend)
Tú viaj**abas** **frecuentemente**.
70
We always used to come back at the same time.
Nosotros **siempre** volv**íamos** a la misma hora.
71
He changed his plans from time to time.
Él cambi**aba** los planes **de vez en cuando**.
72
They used to say it many times.
Ellos lo dec**ían** **muchas veces**.
73
I always used to study.
Yo **siempre** estudi**aba**.
74
I always used to play with them.
Yo **siempre** jug**aba** con ellos.
75
We used to visit them with frequency.
Nosotros los visit**ábamos** **con frecuencia**.
76
He didn't used to want to go out.
Él no quer**ía** salir.
(mental processes involve duration or continuance, so they are often expressed in the imperfect tense)
77
We used to be able to do the work.
Nosotros pod**íamos** hacer el trabajo.
| (mental activity)
78
I was sorry to hear the bad news.
Yo sent**ía** oír las malas noticias.
| (mental activity)
79
They strongly desired it.
Ellos lo dese**aban** fuertemente.
| (mental activity)
80
Carlos didn't know the details.
Carlos no sab**ía** los detalles.
| (mental activity)
81
We preferred traveling by plane.
Nosotros prefer**íamos** viajar en avión.
| (mental activity)
82
We wanted to work.
Nosotros quer**íamos** trabajar.
| (mental activity)
83
Why did you prefer working that way?
| (to a friend)
¿Por qué prefer**ías** trabajar así?
| (mental activity)
84
What were you thinking?
¿En qué pens**aba** Ud.?
| (mental activity)
85
They thought that you knew it.
Ellos cre**ían** que Ud. lo sabía.
| (mental activity)
86
The gentleman used to be in the city.
El señor est**aba** en la ciudad.
(the imperfect tense is used to express discription in the past)
87
But he wasn't from the city.
Pero él no **era** de la ciudad.
| (description in the past)
88
He was from a small village that was located about one hundred kilometres from the city.
**Era** de en pueblo pequeño que qued**aba** a unos cien kilómetros de la ciudad.
(description in the past)
**quedar a** → *to be located at*
89
The gentleman was about twenty years old.
El señor ten**ía** unos veinte años.
| (description in the past)
90
He was tall and slim and had blue eyes and brown hair.
**Era** alto y delgado y ten**ía** los ojos azules y el pelo castaño.
(description in the past)
91
The poor man was tired and sad because he worked a lot and found himself far away from his family and his loved ones.
El pobre est**aba** cansado y triste porque trabaj**aba** mucho y se encontr**aba** lejos de su familia y de sus queridos.
(description in the past)
**encontrarse** → *to find oneself; to be*
92
He felt like going back home.
Él ten**ía** ganas de volver a casa.
(description in the past)
**tener ganas de** → *to wish to; to feel up to*
93
He wanted to rest and to see his family, but he couldn't because he had to keep working.
Quer**ía** descansar y ver a su familia pero no **podía** porque ten**ía** que seguir trabajando.
(description in the past)
**seguir** → *to continue to be; to keep*
94
His family needed the money that he earned and that he sent to them every week.
Su familia necesit**aba** el dinero que él gan**aba** y que les mand**aba** cada semana.
(description in the past)
95
It was eleven at night and he was in bed, but he couldn't fall asleep.
**Eran** las once de la noche y él est**aba** en la cama pero no pod**ía** conciliar el sueño.
(description in the past)
96
He was cold because outside it was cold and snowing.
Él ten**ía** frío porque afuera hac**ía** frío y nev**aba**.
(description in the past)
97
The poor gentleman didn't have enough money to buy himself a blanket and the humble room that he rented had no heating.
El pobre señor no ten**ía** suficiente dinero para comprarse una manta y el cuarto humilde que alquil**aba** no ten**ía** calefacción.
(description in the past)
98
When I was eleven years old, I lived with my family in Mexico.
Cuándo yo ten**ía** once años, viv**ía** con mi familia en México.
(the imperfect is used to express reminiscing)
99
We all celebrated the Day of the Dead.
Todos nosotros celebr**ábamos** el día de los Muertos.
(reminiscing)
100
My grandmother prepared lots of food and we all went to the cemetery where "we ate" with our deceased relatives.
Mi abuela prepar**aba** mucha comida y todos nosotros **íbamos** al cementerio donde "com**íamos**" con nuestros parientes difuntos.
(reminiscing)
101
The children and adults wore masks and costumes.
Los niños y los adultos llev**aban** máscaras y disfraces.
(reminiscing)
102
How long had it been since you had known it?
(to several people)
¿Cuánto tiempo hac**ía** que Uds. lo sab**ían**?
(the imperfect tense is used with the time expression hac**ía**)
103
It had been a long time since he hadn't spoken to us.
Hac**ía** mucho tiempo que él no nos habl**aba**.
104
It had been two years since we had lived in the same apartment.
Hac**ía** dos años que nosotros viv**íamos** en el mismo apartamento.
105
It had been two months since María had known Juan.
Hac**ía** dos meses que María conoc**ía** a Juan.
106
It had been a long time since he had wanted to travel by plane.
Hac**ía** mucho tiempo que él quer**ía** viajar en avión.
107
It had been only five days that he had been sick.
Hac**ía** sólo cinco días que él est**aba** enfermo.
108
How long had it been since they had built that skyscraper over there?
¿Cuánto tiempo hac**ía** que ellos constru**ían** aquel rascacielos?
109
It had been a couple of months since she had told me the same thing.
Hac**ía** un par de meses que ella me dec**ía** la misma cosa.
