LESSON NOTES

Verb Conjugation #21

Imperfect of courtesy

CONTENTS

Vocabulary
Sample sentences
Grammar
Cultural insight

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VOCABULARY

Spanish English Class Gender

caminar to walk verb

creer to believe, to think verb

venir to come verb

playa beach, coastline noun feminine

propio, -a own, proper, appropriate adjective masculine

tienda store noun feminine

malograr to ruin, to spoil verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Caminamos toda la noche. Yo creía que tu familia era muy amable.

"We walk all night long." "I used to believe that your family was very
friendly."

Ven conmigo por favor. Venías a mi casa cada día.

"Come with me please." "You were coming to my house every day."

Manuel Antonio es mi playa favorita. Es obvio que ella necesita su propio espacio.

Manuel Antonio is my favorite beach. "It's obvious that she needs her own space."

Yo compraba queso de la tienda en la esquina. Ella malograba su vida con drogas.

"I used to buy cheese from the corner store." "She was ruining her life with drugs."

GRAMMAR
In this installment of the Verb Conjugation Series, we look at how the Imperfect Tense of the Indicative
mood can be used to express politeness. Last time, we said that the imperfect tense expresses an
“unfinished” aspect of verbal action. This aspect of unfinished verbal action also explains why this tense
is used instead of the Present, in the so-called "Imperfect of Courtesy".

If you're in a restaurant, a waiter may ask you “¿qué deseaba usted?” (what would you care for, sir?”
*Note that this is a figurative translation. While in the Present Tense we would say “¿qué desea usted?”,
the imperfect is more polite: “¿qué deseaba usted?”

We can employ this nuance of the Spanish language to express added courtesy with the Imperfect, as
something that began, and the end of which we make depend on the will of the person whom we
address.

Now, review the following table to see how we conjugate "caminar" (to walk):

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yo caminaba nosotros caminábamos
(I was walking) (we were walking)

tú caminabas vosotros caminabais

(you were walking) (you all were walking)

él caminaba ellos caminaban

(he was walking) (they were walking)

ella caminaba ellas caminaban

(she was walking) (they were walking *feminine)

usted caminaba ustedes caminaban

(you were walking) (you all were walking)

Next, we have the verbs "creer" (to believe), and "venir" (to come) in the Imperfect Tense:

CREER (to believe) VENIR (to come)

yo creía yo venía
(I was believing) (I was coming)

tú creías tú venías
(you were believing) (you were coming)

él creía él venía
(he was believing) (he was coming)

ella creía ella venía

(she was believing) (she was coming)

usted creía usted venía

(you were believing) (you were coming)

nosotros creíamos nosotros veníamos

(we were believing) (we were coming)

vosotros creíais vosotros veníais

(you all were believing) (you all were coming)

ellos/ellas creían ellos/ellas venían

(they were believing) (they were coming)

ustedes creían ustedes venían

(you all were believing) (you all were coming)

CULTURAL INSIGHT
The Imperfect Tense is used to convey what "was happening" in the past. There is no specific beginning
or end to the action. We simply now that it was taking place prior to the present. In today's lesson, we
discuss how the Imperfect Tense can be used in certain contexts to express politeness. It is a nuance of
the language that adds an element of courtesy to you speaking ability in formal situations. Focus on the
conjugation tables as you master the formations for the Imperfect Tense.

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