oír imperfect tense conjugation
Oír (to hear) in the imperfect tense: oía, oías, oía, oíamos, oíais, oían.
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).
Oír 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
Oír in a sentence
- Oigo música todo el tiempo.I hear music all the time.
- Oí un ruido extraño anoche.I heard a strange noise last night.
Highly irregular: yo oigo; add y in third person (oye, oyeron).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of oír?
Oír in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo oía, tú oías, él/ella/usted oía, nosotros oíamos, vosotros oíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes oían.
Is oír irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense oír takes the regular endings for its verb class, so oía 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 oír conjugation, all tenses →
Drill it with flashcards →