leer imperfect tense conjugation
Leer (to read) in the imperfect tense: leía, leías, leía, leíamos, leíais, leían.
Pretérito imperfecto Imperfect
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the imperfect tense
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
Leer is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Leer in a sentence
- Leo el periódico cada mañana.I read the newspaper every morning.
- Ella leyó la carta en voz alta.She read the letter aloud.
Spelling change i→y in preterite/gerund (leyó, leyendo) due to vowel clash.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of leer?
Leer in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo leía, tú leías, él/ella/usted leía, nosotros leíamos, vosotros leíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes leían.
Is leer irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense leer takes the regular endings for its verb class, so leía follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish imperfect tense?
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How is the imperfect tense formed?
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
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