The Imperfect Tense of emigrar is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, for example: Mis abuelos emigraban a España cada verano. (My grandparents used to emigrate to Spain every summer.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Emigrar (to emigrate) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of emigrar is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, or to set the scene for another past action.

Leaving one’s home country: For example, Mis abuelos emigraban a Estados Unidos cada invierno. (My grandparents used to emigrate to the United States every winter.) This meaning refers to the act of leaving one’s home country to settle elsewhere, often for economic or political reasons.

Moving away: For example, Cuando era joven, emigraba de ciudad en ciudad buscando trabajo. (When I was young, I used to move away from city to city looking for work.) This usage implies moving away from a place, not necessarily across national borders.

Leaving (slang): For example, Después de la fiesta, emigrábamos a otro bar. (After the party, we used to leave for another bar.) In informal contexts, emigrar can mean simply leaving or moving on from a place or situation.

Examples

Examples of Emigrar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, mi familia emigraba cada verano a la playa. (When I was a child, my family emigrated to the beach every summer.)

Antes, muchas personas emigraban de sus países en busca de mejores oportunidades. (Before, many people emigrated from their countries in search of better opportunities.)

En aquella época, emigrábamos con frecuencia a otros lugares por trabajo. (In those days, we emigrated frequently to other places for work.)

Mis abuelos emigraban cada invierno a un clima más cálido. (My grandparents emigrated to a warmer climate every winter.)

Ustedes emigraban mucho cuando eran jóvenes, ¿no? (You all emigrated a lot when you were young, didn’t you?)

Ella emigraba temporalmente para estudiar en el extranjero. (She emigrated temporarily to study abroad.)

Vosotros emigrabais cada año a la misma ciudad de vacaciones. (You all emigrated to the same vacation city every year.)

Yo emigraba con mi familia durante las vacaciones escolares. (I emigrated with my family during school vacations.)

Tú emigrabas con frecuencia por razones laborales, ¿verdad? (You emigrated frequently for work reasons, right?)

Ellos emigraban cada primavera para evitar el calor del verano. (They emigrated every spring to avoid the summer heat.)

Nosotros emigrábamos a menudo en busca de nuevas experiencias culturales. (We often emigrated in search of new cultural experiences.)

¿Por qué emigrabas tanto cuando eras joven? (Why did you emigrate so much when you were young?)

En el pasado, mucha gente emigraba por motivos políticos o económicos. (In the past, many people emigrated for political or economic reasons.)

Mis padres emigraban cada año para visitar a familiares en otro país. (My parents emigrated every year to visit relatives in another country.)

Según recuerdo, tú emigrabas con frecuencia por trabajo cuando eras joven. (As I recall, you emigrated frequently for work when you were young.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Emigrar (to emigrate) 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.