mirar imperfect tense conjugation
Mirar (to look at) in the imperfect tense: miraba, mirabas, miraba, mirábamos, mirabais, miraban.
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).
Mirar 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
Mirar in a sentence
- Miro la televisión por la noche.I watch TV at night.
- Miré el reloj varias veces.I looked at the clock several times.
Regular -ar verb; no preposition needed before the direct object.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of mirar?
Mirar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo miraba, tú mirabas, él/ella/usted miraba, nosotros mirábamos, vosotros mirabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes miraban.
Is mirar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense mirar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so miraba 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).
Full mirar conjugation, all tenses →
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