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The past for habits, descriptions, and the way things were.
- hablabayo / él / ella (hablar) — yo and él/ella share one formI / he / she was speaking / used to speak
- hablabastú (hablar)you were speaking / used to speak
- hablábamosnosotros (hablar) — note the accent on the áwe were speaking / used to speak
- hablabanellos/ellas (hablar)they were speaking / used to speak
- comíayo / él / ella (comer) — all -er/-ir forms take an accented í; yo and él/ella share one formI / he / she was eating / used to eat
- comíastú (comer)you were eating / used to eat
- comíamosnosotros (comer)we were eating / used to eat
- comíanellos/ellas (comer)they were eating / used to eat
- era / eras / eraser (irregular): yo era, tú eras, él/ella eraI was / you were / he-she was
- éramos / eranser (irregular): nosotros éramos (accent), ellos eranwe were / they were
- iba / ibas / ibair (irregular): yo iba, tú ibas, él/ella ibaI was going / used to go, etc.
- íbamos / ibanir (irregular): nosotros íbamos (accent), ellos ibanwe were going / they were going
- veía / veías / veíaver (irregular): keeps the e — yo veía, tú veías, él/ella veíaI was seeing / used to see, etc.
- Cuando era niño...Imperfecto for description/background: 'When I was a child...' — sets the scene, no defined endWhen I was a child...
- Comía / ComíImperfecto vs pretérito: 'was eating' (ongoing) vs 'ate' (a single completed action)was eating (ongoing) vs ate (done)
- Todos los días caminabaImperfecto = habit/repeated past action: 'Every day I used to walk.'Every day I used to walk
- Ayer comí pizzaPretérito (contrast) = one completed action with a clear end: 'Yesterday I ate pizza.'Yesterday I ate pizza
- Leía cuando llamasteBoth tenses together: imperfecto (background, leía) interrupted by pretérito (event, llamaste)I was reading when you called