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Conjugation Chart of “Ocurrir” (to happen) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Ocurrir”

The Imperfect Tense of ocurrir is used to describe ongoing or repeated events in the past. For example, Ocurría que siempre llegaba tarde a la oficina. (It used to happen that I always arrived late to the office.)

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

How to Use Ocurrir in the Imperfect Tense

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

Happening or occurring (general sense): For example, Ocurría un accidente cada semana en esa intersección peligrosa. (An accident used to happen every week at that dangerous intersection.)

Taking place: For example, La fiesta ocurría en el patio trasero. (The party was taking place in the backyard.)

Happening (with a sense of suddenness): For example, De repente, me ocurrió una idea brillante. (Suddenly, a brilliant idea occurred to me.)

Happening to one’s mind: For example, No me ocurría nada en ese momento. (Nothing was occurring to me at that moment.) This can also mean “I couldn’t think of anything.”

Colloquial usage (rude): For example, ¿Qué te ocurre, idiota? (What’s wrong with you, idiot?) This is a rude way of asking what someone’s problem is.

Real Life Examples of Ocurrir in the Imperfect Tense

Siempre ocurría que el metro iba lleno a la hora punta. (It always happened that the metro was full during rush hour.)

Nos ocurría muy a menudo quedarnos sin papel higiénico en el piso compartido. (It happened to us very often to run out of toilet paper in the shared flat.)

¿Os ocurría a vosotros también que el profesor llegaba tarde a clase? (Did it happen to you guys too that the professor arrived late to class?)

Me ocurría que cada vez que iba al súper se me olvidaba comprar algo. (It would happen to me that every time I went to the supermarket, I’d forget to buy something.)

Les ocurría a mis colegas que el jefe les mandaba mensajes fuera del horario laboral. (It happened to my colleagues that the boss would send them messages outside working hours.)

¿Te ocurría a ti también que te perdías con el GPS en el casco antiguo? (Did it happen to you too that you’d get lost with GPS in the old town?)

Cuando éramos pequeños, nos ocurría que confundíamos el wasabi con el guacamole. (When we were little, it would happen to us that we’d confuse wasabi with guacamole.)

Les ocurría a los vecinos que el WiFi se cortaba justo en medio de las videollamadas. (It happened to the neighbors that the WiFi would cut out right in the middle of video calls.)

Os ocurría muy a menudo que os quedabais sin batería en el móvil en el botellón. (It happened to you guys very often that your phones would die during the outdoor drinking gathering.)

Me ocurría que me dormía en el último metro después de salir de copas. (It would happen to me that I’d fall asleep on the last metro after going out for drinks.)

Siempre ocurría algo en la discoteca cuando ya estábamos a punto de irnos. (Something always happened at the club when we were about to leave.)

Les ocurría a menudo que el camarero les traía la cuenta sin pedirla. (It often happened to them that the waiter would bring them the bill without asking.)

Nos ocurría que perdíamos el último autobús después del partido de fútbol. (It happened to us that we’d miss the last bus after the football match.)

¿Os ocurría que os agobiabais con tanta gente en el mercadillo? (Did it happen to you guys that you’d feel overwhelmed with so many people at the street market?)

Me ocurría que me liaba con los nombres de las calles del centro. (It would happen to me that I’d get confused with the street names in the center.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Ocurrir (to happen) 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.