The Imperfect Tense of aprender is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo aprendía español cuando vivía en España. (I was learning Spanish when I lived in Spain.)

Aprender is a regular -er verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the regular pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Aprender (to learn) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of aprender is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

Ongoing action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, aprendía a tocar la guitarra. (When I was a child, I was learning to play the guitar.)

Repeated action in the past: For example, Cada verano, aprendía nuevas recetas de mi abuela. (Every summer, I used to learn new recipes from my grandmother.)

Description in the past: For example, Mi hermano aprendía rápido en la escuela. (My brother learned quickly at school.)

State of being in the past: For example, De pequeño, aprendía a ser independiente. (As a child, I was learning to be independent.)

Colloquial usage: In some contexts, aprender can be used informally to mean “to teach someone a lesson,” as in Le aprendí a no meterse conmigo. (I taught him a lesson not to mess with me.)

Examples

Examples of Aprender in the Imperfect Tense

Yo aprendía español cuando vivía en México. (I was learning Spanish when I lived in Mexico.)

Mis amigos aprendían a tocar la guitarra los fines de semana. (My friends were learning to play the guitar on weekends.)

Ella aprendía a cocinar platillos típicos de su abuela. (She was learning to cook traditional dishes from her grandmother.)

Nosotros aprendíamos sobre la historia de América Latina en la clase. (We were learning about the history of Latin America in class.)

Tú aprendías a bailar salsa muy rápido. (You were learning to dance salsa very quickly.)

Ellos aprendían nuevas palabras cada día. (They were learning new words every day.)

Vosotros aprendíais el idioma con mucha dedicación. (You all were learning the language with great dedication.)

Ustedes aprendían sobre la cultura local en el tour. (You were learning about the local culture on the tour.)

Yo aprendía a negociar con mis compañeros de trabajo. (I was learning to negotiate with my coworkers.)

Ellas aprendían técnicas de meditación en el retiro. (They were learning meditation techniques at the retreat.)

Tú aprendías a manejar un nuevo software en tu trabajo. (You were learning to use new software at your job.)

Nosotros aprendíamos sobre los derechos humanos en la conferencia. (We were learning about human rights at the conference.)

Vosotros aprendíais a tocar la guitarra eléctrica en la clase de música. (You all were learning to play the electric guitar in music class.)

Ellos aprendían sobre la importancia del reciclaje en la escuela. (They were learning about the importance of recycling at school.)

Ustedes aprendían a preparar comidas saludables en el taller. (You were learning to prepare healthy meals at the workshop.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Aprender (to learn) in the Imperfect Tense 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.