The Imperfect Tense of gastar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Gastaba mucho dinero en libros. (I used to spend a lot of money on books.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Gastar (to spend) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Spending money: For example, Cuando era niño, gastaba todo mi dinero en dulces. (When I was a child, I used to spend all my money on candy.)

Using or consuming resources: For example, Mi coche gastaba mucha gasolina. (My car used to consume a lot of gas.)

Wearing out or using up: For example, Gastaba mucha tinta imprimiendo tantos documentos. (I used to go through a lot of ink printing so many documents.)

Spending time (colloquial): For example, Gastaba horas jugando videojuegos. (I used to spend hours playing video games.)

Wasting or squandering (negative connotation): For example, Gastaba su dinero en tonterías. (He used to waste his money on silly things.)

Examples

Examples of Gastar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo gastaba mucho dinero en ropa cuando era joven. (I used to spend a lot of money on clothes when I was young.)

Ellos gastaban demasiado en comida rápida. (They used to spend too much on fast food.)

¿Gastabas mucho tiempo viendo televisión de niño? (Did you use to spend a lot of time watching TV as a child?)

Nosotros gastábamos nuestro dinero en viajes familiares. (We used to spend our money on family trips.)

Vosotros gastabais mucha energía jugando al fútbol. (You all used to spend a lot of energy playing soccer.)

Ella gastaba su sueldo en artículos de lujo. (She used to spend her salary on luxury items.)

Ustedes gastaban mucho tiempo en las redes sociales. (You all used to spend a lot of time on social media.)

¿Gastabas todo tu dinero en fiestas cuando eras estudiante? (Did you use to spend all your money on parties when you were a student?)

Mis padres gastaban mucho en mi educación. (My parents used to spend a lot on my education.)

Yo gastaba horas leyendo novelas de misterio. (I used to spend hours reading mystery novels.)

Ellos gastaban su tiempo libre haciendo deporte. (They used to spend their free time doing sports.)

¿Gastabais mucho en restaurantes caros? (Did you all use to spend a lot at expensive restaurants?)

Nosotros gastábamos nuestros ahorros en viajar. (We used to spend our savings on traveling.)

Ella gastaba demasiado en maquillaje. (She used to spend too much on makeup.)

Ustedes gastaban mucha energía en sus pasatiempos. (You all used to spend a lot of energy on your hobbies.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Gastar (to spend) 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.