The Imperfect Tense of cantar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo cantaba en el coro cuando era niño. (I used to sing in the choir when I was a child.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cantar (to sing) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of cantar 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, cantaba en el coro de la iglesia. (When I was a child, I used to sing in the church choir.)

Repeated action in the past: For example, Cada verano, cantábamos canciones alrededor de la fogata. (Every summer, we would sing songs around the campfire.)

Description in the past: For example, La cantante cantaba con una voz preciosa. (The singer sang with a beautiful voice.)

State of being in the past: For example, De pequeño, cantaba muy bien. (As a child, I could sing very well.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: Cantaba como un ángel (She sang like an angel, meaning she sang beautifully). Cantaba como una verdulera (He sang like a greengrocer, meaning he sang very badly).

Examples

Examples of Cantar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, cantaba en el coro de la iglesia. (When I was a child, I used to sing in the church choir.)

Ella cantaba mientras cocinaba para hacer la tarea más amena. (She would sing while cooking to make the chore more enjoyable.)

Vosotros cantabais muy bien en la fiesta de anoche. (You all sang very well at the party last night.)

Mis abuelos cantaban canciones folklóricas todos los domingos. (My grandparents would sing folk songs every Sunday.)

Ustedes cantaban tan alto que molestaban a los vecinos. (You all used to sing so loudly that you bothered the neighbors.)

Yo cantaba en la ducha todas las mañanas. (I would sing in the shower every morning.)

Tú cantabas muy desafinado, pero con mucha pasión. (You used to sing very out of tune, but with a lot of passion.)

Nosotros cantábamos canciones de protesta en las manifestaciones. (We would sing protest songs at the demonstrations.)

Ellos cantaban villancicos en Navidad para recaudar fondos. (They would sing Christmas carols to raise funds.)

Vosotros cantabais en el karaoke como si fuerais estrellas de rock. (You all would sing at the karaoke as if you were rock stars.)

Ella cantaba nanas para arrullar a su bebé. (She would sing lullabies to lull her baby to sleep.)

Yo cantaba en el coro de la universidad. (I used to sing in the university choir.)

Tú cantabas esa canción tan pegadiza todo el tiempo. (You would sing that catchy song all the time.)

Nosotros cantábamos canciones de campamento alrededor de la fogata. (We would sing campfire songs around the bonfire.)

Ellos cantaban en el bar karaoke todas las noches. (They would sing at the karaoke bar every night.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cantar (to sing) 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.