The Imperfect Tense of asustarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, for example, Me asustaba cada vez que veía una araña. (I would get scared every time I saw a spider.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Asustarse (to get scared) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

To be scared/frightened: For example, de niño me asustaba con las tormentas eléctricas (as a child I used to be scared of thunderstorms).

To get scared/frightened: For example, me asustaba cada vez que oía un ruido extraño por la noche (I would get scared every time I heard a strange noise at night).

To startle/jump (colloquial): For example, ¡no me asustes así! (don’t startle me like that!).

To chicken out (slang): For example, al final se asustó y no se atrevió a saltar (in the end he chickened out and didn’t dare to jump).

Examples

Examples of Asustarse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, me asustaba mucho la oscuridad. (When I was a child, I was very afraid of the dark.)

Ella se asustaba cada vez que veía una araña. (She would get scared every time she saw a spider.)

El perro se asustaba con los truenos y se escondía debajo de la cama. (The dog would get scared of thunderstorms and hide under the bed.)

Nosotros nos asustábamos con las historias de terror que contaba mi abuelo. (We would get scared by the horror stories my grandfather told.)

Tú te asustabas con facilidad cuando eras pequeño. (You would get scared easily when you were little.)

Ellos se asustaban cada vez que el avión pasaba por turbulencia. (They would get scared every time the plane went through turbulence.)

Yo me asustaba con las películas de terror, pero a mi hermano le encantaban. (I would get scared by horror movies, but my brother loved them.)

Ustedes se asustaban con los ruidos extraños que se escuchaban en la casa abandonada. (You would get scared by the strange noises heard in the abandoned house.)

Vosotros os asustabais con las leyendas urbanas que contaban vuestros amigos. (You would get scared by the urban legends your friends told.)

Ella se asustaba cada vez que tenía que hablar en público. (She would get scared every time she had to speak in public.)

Nosotros nos asustábamos con los ruidos que se escuchaban en el bosque por la noche. (We would get scared by the noises heard in the forest at night.)

Tú te asustabas con las bromas pesadas que te gastaban tus compañeros. (You would get scared by the practical jokes your classmates played on you.)

Ellos se asustaban con las noticias sobre desastres naturales. (They would get scared by the news about natural disasters.)

Yo me asustaba con las historias de fantasmas que contaban en el campamento. (I would get scared by the ghost stories they told at camp.)

Ustedes se asustaban con los rumores sobre secuestros que circulaban en la ciudad. (You would get scared by the rumors about kidnappings circulating in the city.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Asustarse (to get scared) 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.