The Imperfect Tense of oír is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Oía las campanas de la iglesia todos los domingos. (I used to hear the church bells every Sunday.)

This verb follows the standard conjugation pattern for verbs ending in -ír in the Imperfect Tense, with the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Oír (to hear) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Hearing sounds or voices: For example, Oía las campanas de la iglesia desde mi casa. (I could hear the church bells from my house.)

Listening to someone or something: For example, Oía atentamente las instrucciones del profesor. (I was listening carefully to the teacher’s instructions.)

Perceiving or understanding: For example, No oía bien lo que me decías. (I couldn’t quite understand what you were telling me.)

Colloquial usage: In some contexts, oír can be used informally to mean “to pay attention” or “to listen up.” For example, ¡Oye! ¡Presta atención! (Hey! Pay attention!)

Examples

Examples of Oír in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, oía las historias de mi abuela con mucha atención. (When I was a child, I listened to my grandmother’s stories very attentively.)

Mis vecinos oían música a todo volumen, lo cual me molestaba. (My neighbors were listening to music at full volume, which annoyed me.)

En la oficina, oíamos el ruido de las obras de construcción todo el día. (At the office, we could hear the noise from the construction works all day long.)

Tú oías los rumores, pero no les creías, ¿verdad? (You were hearing the rumors, but you didn’t believe them, right?)

Ellos oían el canto de los pájaros todas las mañanas en el parque. (They could hear the birds singing every morning in the park.)

Yo oía los gritos de los niños jugando en el patio de la escuela. (I could hear the shouts of children playing in the school yard.)

Ustedes oían las noticias en la radio mientras conducían. (You were listening to the news on the radio while driving.)

Ella oía los rumores de la oficina, pero no les hacía caso. (She was hearing the office rumors, but she didn’t pay attention to them.)

Nosotros oíamos el sonido de la lluvia golpeando contra las ventanas. (We could hear the sound of rain hitting the windows.)

¿Oías el ruido de los fuegos artificiales anoche? (Could you hear the noise of the fireworks last night?)

Ellas oían los rumores, pero no les daban importancia. (They were hearing the rumors, but they didn’t give them importance.)

Yo oía el sonido de las olas rompiendo en la playa. (I could hear the sound of the waves breaking on the beach.)

Tú oías los consejos de tus padres, pero no los seguías. (You were hearing your parents’ advice, but you didn’t follow it.)

Ellos oían el ruido de los autos en la calle principal. (They could hear the noise of cars on the main street.)

Nosotros oíamos el sonido de la música en el vecindario. (We could hear the sound of music in the neighborhood.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Oír (to hear) 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.