Imperfect Tense

The Imperfect Tense (El Pretérito Imperfecto) governs the expression of continuous, habitual, or incomplete actions in the past, serving as the descriptive backbone of narrative structures. Mastery requires distinguishing between the imperfect aspect (background, state of being) and the perfective aspect (completed events), a critical differentiator in advanced proficiency. Candidates must manipulate regular paradigms (-aba, -ía) and high-frequency irregulars (ser, ir, ver) to describe physical environments, emotional states, and repeated historical routines with accuracy.