The imperfect preterite is a verbal tense of Spanish and other Romance languages. It is used to refer to an action that was carried out simultaneously with another in the past ; to an act that continues in the present ; or to a practice that was repetitive and frequent long ago .
It is generally indicated that the temporal limitations of the state described in the past imperfect are not important. Its formation is made with the root of the verb plus an ending that varies depending on the conjugation: -aba/-abas/-ABAS/-ABAIS/-ABA/-ÍA/-ÍAS/-ÍAS/-ÍAIS/-ÍAN .
Let's analyze an example : “We were talking in the garden when it started to rain.” As you can see, the verb in the imperfect tense ( “we were talking” ) refers to an action that was taking place at the same moment that a different one began ( “it started to rain” ).
In this case we can closely study the temporal differences between the past imperfect and the simple past perfect. The action of the subject ( us , first person singular) begins at one point and extends, probably over several minutes, as is often the case with conversations ; This can draw a segment on the time line, which is infinite like any line. At a point between its beginning and its end, the beginning of the rain takes place: "began" happens only once, it is not extended, and that is why the simple past tense is used instead of the imperfect.
Using this same sentence we can also understand that certain verbs are more compatible with some tenses than with others. For example: the verb begin can be used in the imperfect tense, but especially in literary texts, to emphasize the idea of "birth" or "origin" of an era, while in everyday speech it is usually conjugated in more blunt tenses, which make reference to a point and not to a period . In this way, phrases such as "it started", "it has started", "it had started" arise, although it is also valid to say "it began to feel uncomfortable."
Let's take another case: “When I was a child I spent summers in Patagonia.” The speaker points out that, in his childhood, he used to spend summers ( "veraneaba" ) in a certain region. The use of the imperfect tense suggests that what was mentioned was common.
It is important to note that the use of the imperfect tense to indicate a habit from the past is less formal than the use of the verb soler accompanied by the main verb in the infinitive: "used to summer" is more correct than "veraneaba", since this last conjugation gives the idea of a continuous action over time and not of a sporadic custom. However, in everyday speech the meaning of sentences like the one in the previous example is perfectly understood, even if they are not academically correct.
It is important to mention that the past imperfect is also used to indicate an action in the present in a polite way. This use is common in telephone communications: “I was bothering you to find out if the results of my studies are available” (the annoyance to which the individual alludes is still ongoing).
The verb call is one of the most used in the imperfect tense to increase its degree of formality although, as in the case of "veraneaba", it is not a decision that responds to the theoretical foundations of conjugation . The sentence "I called her so we can talk about the contract" should perhaps be expressed with the verb call conjugated in the past perfect ("I called her") or even omitting it, since the recipient knows perfectly well that she has received a call, so this data is not relevant.
More sentences in the imperfect tense: “We played without worries despite the storm,” “We laughed a lot back then,” “I called him so we could coordinate a new meeting,” “My grandfather went to the casino too often,” “I was sleeping when the explosion startled me .” ” .