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Conjugation Chart of “Dormir” (to sleep) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Dormir”

The Imperfect Tense of dormir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo dormía ocho horas cada noche. (I used to sleep eight hours every night.)

Dormir is a regular -ir verb, so its Imperfect conjugations follow the typical pattern for that verb type.

How to Use Dormir in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of dormir is used to describe ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past.

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Anoche dormía cuando sonó el teléfono. (Last night I was sleeping when the phone rang.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, De niño, dormía con la luz encendida. (As a child, I used to sleep with the light on.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, Mis abuelos dormían en camas separadas. (My grandparents used to sleep in separate beds.)

Expressing an action interrupted in the past: For example, Dormía cuando me despertó un ruido fuerte. (I was sleeping when a loud noise woke me up.)

Expressing a simultaneous action in the past: For example, Mientras dormía, soñaba con vacaciones. (While I was sleeping, I dreamed about vacations.)

Colloquial usage: For example, ¡Deja de dormirte en los laureles! (Stop resting on your laurels!)

Real Life Examples of Dormir in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, dormía con una luz encendida. (When I was a child, I used to sleep with a light on.)

Mi abuela dormía siesta todas las tardes. (My grandmother would take a nap every afternoon.)

Antes de tener hijos, dormíamos hasta tarde los fines de semana. (Before having kids, we would sleep in late on weekends.)

Durante las vacaciones, dormían la siesta después del almuerzo. (During the holidays, they would take a nap after lunch.)

Tú dormías como un tronco cuando eras bebé. (You used to sleep like a log when you were a baby.)

Ella dormía con la televisión encendida, lo cual me molestaba. (She would sleep with the TV on, which annoyed me.)

Nosotros dormíamos en la misma habitación de niños. (We used to sleep in the same room as kids.)

Ustedes dormían demasiado los fines de semana, ¿no? (You guys would sleep too much on weekends, wouldn’t you?)

Vosotros dormíais hasta el mediodía cuando erais adolescentes. (You guys would sleep until noon when you were teenagers.)

Ellos dormían con las ventanas abiertas en verano. (They would sleep with the windows open in summer.)

¿Dormías bien cuando tenías ese trabajo de noche? (Would you sleep well when you had that night job?)

Yo dormía muy poco cuando estaba estresado por el trabajo. (I would sleep very little when I was stressed from work.)

En la universidad, dormíamos sólo unas pocas horas antes de los exámenes. (In college, we would only sleep a few hours before exams.)

Vosotros dormíais en literas cuando ibais de campamento, ¿verdad? (You guys would sleep in bunk beds when you went camping, right?)

Ella dormía con un antifaz porque le molestaba la luz. (She would sleep with an eye mask because light bothered her.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) 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.