The Imperfect Tense of caer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Cada verano caía enfermo. (Every summer I would get sick.)

Caer follows the accented -ía verb conjugation pattern in the Imperfect Tense. This means the verb endings are accented in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Caer (to fall) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Falling or dropping: For example, Cuando era niño, me caía con frecuencia al andar en bicicleta. (When I was a child, I often fell while riding my bike.)

Happening or occurring: For example, Cada año caían las primeras nevadas en diciembre. (Every year, the first snowfalls occurred in December.)

Fitting or hanging (clothes): For example, Ese vestido te caía muy bien. (That dress fit you very well.)

Declining or decreasing: For example, Las ventas caían mes tras mes. (Sales were declining month after month.)

Setting (sun, night): For example, El sol caía cuando llegamos a casa. (The sun was setting when we arrived home.)

Slang: Liking or being attracted to someone: For example, ¿Te caía bien tu compañera de clase? (Did you like your classmate?)

Slang (rude): Disliking or being annoyed by someone: For example, Mi vecino me caía mal porque hacía mucho ruido. (I disliked my neighbor because they made a lot of noise.)

Examples

Examples of Caer in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, caía de la bicicleta con frecuencia. (When I was a child, I used to fall off the bicycle frequently.)

Ella caía en la trampa de mentir cada vez que tenía un problema. (She would fall into the trap of lying every time she had a problem.)

La lluvia caía suavemente sobre el techo de la casa. (The rain was falling gently on the roof of the house.)

Mis abuelos caían enfermos con frecuencia durante el invierno. (My grandparents would often get sick during the winter.)

El equipo caía en la desesperación cada vez que perdía un partido importante. (The team would fall into despair every time they lost an important game.)

La noche caía lentamente sobre la ciudad. (Night was slowly falling over the city.)

Tú caías en la tentación de comer dulces a menudo. (You would often fall into the temptation of eating sweets.)

Ellos caían en la rutina de ver televisión todas las noches. (They would fall into the routine of watching TV every night.)

Las hojas caían de los árboles durante el otoño. (The leaves would fall from the trees during autumn.)

Nosotros caíamos en la trampa de procrastinar con nuestras tareas. (We would fall into the trap of procrastinating on our tasks.)

El sol caía detrás de las montañas al atardecer. (The sun would set behind the mountains at dusk.)

Ustedes caían en la tentación de quedarse despiertos hasta tarde. (You all would fall into the temptation of staying up late.)

Ella caía en la rutina de levantarse temprano todos los días. (She would fall into the routine of waking up early every day.)

Nosotros caíamos en la trampa de comer comida chatarra con frecuencia. (We would fall into the trap of eating junk food frequently.)

Las estrellas caían del cielo durante la lluvia de meteoros. (The stars would fall from the sky during the meteor shower.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Caer (to fall) 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.