El Imperfecto progresivo

Spanish past progressive

Written by qualified Spanish expert Inma Sánchez BA
Last updated: 2022-01-03

El Imperfecto Progresivo is a tense that describes actions in progress in the past.

It uses "estar" in El Imperfecto followed by a gerund.

It is used for those actions in progress in the past with a descriptive function, not giving any emphasis to the beginning or end.

Vosotros estabais decidiendo el menú de la boda.You were deciding on the wedding menu.
See also: Spanish Past Tenses and All Spanish Tenses

Lessons with more detail on El Imperfecto progresivo

Forming the progressive imperfect with estar + present participle (El Imperfecto progresivo/continuo)
The Spanish imperfect progressive vs the Spanish preterite progressive (was +ing)
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