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Tense guide
Imperfecto progresivo (Imperfect Progressive)

Language: Spanish
Tense:
Person:

Practice conjugation drills

Introduction

This verb form describes an action that was in progress at a certain point in the past. Think of it as the Spanish way of saying "was doing" or "were doing" something. It focuses on the action as it was happening, not on its beginning or end.

Use this form to talk about a background action that was interrupted by another, shorter action. The longer, ongoing action uses this form.

Yo estaba durmiendo cuando sonó el teléfono.
(I was sleeping when the phone rang.)
Nosotros estábamos caminando por el parque cuando empezó a llover.
(We were walking through the park when it started to rain.)
Ellos estaban cenando cuando llegaron los invitados.
(They were eating dinner when the guests arrived.)
¿Qué estabas haciendo cuando te llamé?
(What were you doing when I called you?)

Use it to describe what was happening at a specific time in the past. It helps to set the scene or paint a picture.

Ayer a las cinco de la tarde, yo estaba leyendo un libro.
(Yesterday at five in the afternoon, I was reading a book.)
En ese momento, los niños estaban jugando afuera.
(At that moment, the children were playing outside.)
La ciudad estaba tranquila. Solo unos pocos coches estaban circulando.
(The city was quiet. Only a few cars were driving around.)

You can also use it to describe two or more actions that were happening at the same time in the past.

Yo estaba cocinando mientras mi hermana estaba poniendo la mesa.
(I was cooking while my sister was setting the table.)
Él estaba escuchando música y ella estaba trabajando en su computadora.
(He was listening to music and she was working on her computer.)

It can emphasize that a temporary action or situation was ongoing during a specific period in the past.

Ese verano, estábamos viviendo cerca de la playa.
(That summer, we were living near the beach.)
En aquellos años, la empresa estaba creciendo muy rápido.
(In those years, the company was growing very fast.)

Be careful not to use this form too much. In Spanish, it's very common to use the simpler past tense (like `hablaba` or `comía`) for ongoing past actions. Only use this special form when you want to strongly emphasize that an action was actively in progress.

Conjugation patterns