The Imperfect Tense of Despertar is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, Yo despertaba a las 7 cada mañana. (I used to wake up at 7 every morning.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Despertar (to wake up) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of despertar is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past.

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Yo despertaba a las 7 cada mañana. (I used to wake up at 7 every morning.)

Describing a repeated action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, mi madre me despertaba con besos. (When I was a child, my mother would wake me up with kisses.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, Despertaba con mucha energía. (I would wake up with a lot of energy.)

Describing a background action: For example, Mientras despertaba, oía el canto de los pájaros. (While I was waking up, I could hear the birds singing.)

Idiomatic usage: For example, ¡Despierta, hombre! ¡Estás en las nubes! (Wake up, man! You’re in the clouds! – meaning to pay attention or be aware of what’s going on.)

Examples

Examples of Despertar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo despertaba temprano todos los días para ir al trabajo. (I used to wake up early every day to go to work.)

Cuando era niño, despertaba con el canto de los pájaros. (When I was a child, I would wake up to the singing of birds.)

Ella despertaba con mucha energía, lista para enfrentar el día. (She would wake up full of energy, ready to face the day.)

Mis abuelos despertaban al amanecer para trabajar en el campo. (My grandparents would wake up at dawn to work in the fields.)

Vosotros despertabais tarde los fines de semana, ¿verdad? (You all used to wake up late on weekends, right?)

Ustedes despertaban con el ruido de la construcción vecina. (You all would wake up to the noise from the neighboring construction site.)

Él despertaba sobresaltado por las pesadillas recurrentes. (He would wake up startled by recurring nightmares.)

Nosotros despertábamos con el olor del café recién hecho. (We would wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.)

Ellas despertaban con entusiasmo para ir de compras. (They would wake up enthusiastically to go shopping.)

Tú despertabas de mal humor por las mañanas. (You used to wake up in a bad mood in the mornings.)

Yo despertaba con dolor de cabeza después de una noche de fiesta. (I would wake up with a headache after a night of partying.)

Vosotros despertabais temprano para ir a la playa. (You all would wake up early to go to the beach.)

Ellos despertaban con el sonido de las campanas de la iglesia. (They would wake up to the sound of church bells.)

Ella despertaba con ganas de conquistar el mundo. (She would wake up feeling like conquering the world.)

Nosotros despertábamos con el olor de los panes recién horneados. (We would wake up to the smell of freshly baked bread.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Despertar (to wake up) 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.