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Conjugation Chart

“Calentar” (to heat) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Calentar”

The Imperfect Tense of calentar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo calentaba la comida todos los días. (I used to heat up the food every day.)

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

How to Use Calentar in the Imperfect Tense

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

Heating or warming something up: For example, Yo calentaba la leche para el desayuno. (I was heating up the milk for breakfast.)

Figurative warming up: For example, El equipo calentaba antes del partido. (The team was warming up before the match.)

Getting excited or worked up: For example, La discusión me calentaba la cabeza. (The argument was getting me worked up/heated.)

Slang: Getting sexually aroused: For example, Las fotos calentaban a Juan. (The photos were turning Juan on, slang.)

Real Life Examples of Calentar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, mi abuela calentaba la leche en la estufa antes de que me fuera a la escuela. (When I was a child, my grandmother would warm up the milk on the stove before I went to school.)

El equipo de fútbol calentaba antes de cada partido para evitar lesiones. (The soccer team would warm up before each game to avoid injuries.)

Durante el invierno, calentábamos la casa con una chimenea de leña. (During the winter, we would heat the house with a wood-burning fireplace.)

Mis padres calentaban las tortillas en el comal antes de servirlas. (My parents would warm up the tortillas on the griddle before serving them.)

Cada mañana, calentaba el café en el microondas antes de beberlo. (Every morning, I would heat up the coffee in the microwave before drinking it.)

En la fiesta, calentábamos las salchichas en la parrilla para los invitados. (At the party, we would grill the hot dogs for the guests.)

Antes de salir a correr, calentaba mis músculos para evitar lesiones. (Before going for a run, I would warm up my muscles to avoid injuries.)

Cuando hacía frío, calentábamos el carro unos minutos antes de arrancar. (When it was cold, we would warm up the car for a few minutes before starting it.)

En el restaurante, calentaban el pan en el horno antes de servirlo. (At the restaurant, they would warm up the bread in the oven before serving it.)

Antes de una presentación importante, calentaba mi voz haciendo ejercicios de respiración. (Before an important presentation, I would warm up my voice by doing breathing exercises.)

Cuando calentábamos demasiado la casa, abríamos las ventanas para refrescar el ambiente. (When we would heat up the house too much, we would open the windows to cool it down.)

En el gimnasio, calentábamos los músculos con ejercicios de estiramiento antes de comenzar el entrenamiento. (At the gym, we would warm up our muscles with stretching exercises before starting the workout.)

Vosotros calentabais la comida en el microondas cuando llegabais tarde a casa. (You all would heat up the food in the microwave when you arrived home late.)

Ellos calentaban la piscina durante los meses más fríos para poder nadar cómodamente. (They would heat up the pool during the colder months so they could swim comfortably.)

Tú calentabas las tortillas de harina en la sartén antes de rellenarlas con los ingredientes. (You would warm up the flour tortillas in the pan before filling them with ingredients.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Calentar (to heat) 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.