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Conjugation Chart

“Sentarse” (to sit down) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Sentarse”

The Imperfect Tense of sentarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, for example, Me sentaba en el parque todos los días. (I used to sit in the park every day.)

Sentarse is a regular -ar verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

How to Use Sentarse in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of sentarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past.

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, me sentaba en el suelo a jugar con mis juguetes. (When I was a child, I used to sit on the floor to play with my toys.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, Cada tarde, me sentaba en el parque a leer un libro. (Every afternoon, I would sit in the park to read a book.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, Cuando vivía en esa casa, siempre me sentaba junto a la ventana. (When I lived in that house, I would always sit by the window.)

Describing a background action or setting the scene: For example, Mientras me sentaba en la sala de espera, escuché una conversación interesante. (While I was sitting in the waiting room, I overheard an interesting conversation.)

Colloquial or idiomatic usage: For example, “¡Siéntate y cállate!” (Sit down and shut up!) is a rude way of telling someone to be quiet and stop causing trouble.

Real Life Examples of Sentarse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, me sentaba en el suelo para jugar con mis juguetes. (When I was a child, I would sit on the floor to play with my toys.)

Mis abuelos se sentaban en el parque todas las tardes para tomar el aire fresco. (My grandparents would sit in the park every afternoon to get some fresh air.)

En la escuela, nos sentábamos en pupitres individuales. (At school, we would sit at individual desks.)

Antes de que existieran los asientos reclinables, te sentabas derecho en el cine. (Before reclining seats existed, you would sit upright in the movie theater.)

Cuando se sentaban a la mesa, mis padres siempre decían la bendición. (When they would sit at the table, my parents would always say grace.)

En las reuniones familiares, nos sentábamos todos juntos en la sala. (At family gatherings, we would all sit together in the living room.)

Vosotros os sentabais en primera fila para ver mejor el espectáculo. (You would sit in the front row to see the show better.)

Ellos se sentaban en la terraza para disfrutar de la puesta de sol. (They would sit on the terrace to enjoy the sunset.)

Cuando me sentaba en el sofá, a veces me quedaba dormido. (When I would sit on the couch, sometimes I would fall asleep.)

En la iglesia, nos sentábamos en los bancos de madera. (At church, we would sit on the wooden pews.)

Ustedes se sentaban en el suelo cuando acampábamos. (You would sit on the ground when we went camping.)

Ella se sentaba en su escritorio para trabajar en sus proyectos. (She would sit at her desk to work on her projects.)

Nosotros nos sentábamos alrededor de la fogata para contar historias de terror. (We would sit around the campfire to tell scary stories.)

Tú te sentabas en el sillón reclinable para ver la televisión. (You would sit in the recliner to watch TV.)

Ellas se sentaban en círculo para hacer manualidades juntas. (They would sit in a circle to do crafts together.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Sentarse (to sit down) in the Imperfect Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.