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Conjugation Chart

“Volver” (to return) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Volver”

The Imperfect Tense of volver is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, Cuando era niño, volvía a casa después de la escuela. (When I was a child, I used to go back home after school.)

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

How to Use Volver in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of volver is used to describe continuous or repeated actions in the past.

Returning or going back: For example, Cuando era niño, volvía a casa después de la escuela. (When I was a child, I would go back home after school.)

Happening again: For example, El dolor de cabeza me volvía cada vez que estudiaba demasiado. (The headache would come back every time I studied too much.)

Becoming again: For example, En el invierno, el lago se volvía a congelar. (In the winter, the lake would freeze over again.)

Repeating an action: For example, Volvía a explicarle las instrucciones una y otra vez. (I would explain the instructions to him over and over again.)

Recovering: For example, Después de la operación, volvía a la normalidad poco a poco. (After the surgery, he would gradually return to normal.)

Turning or facing (colloquial): For example, Cada vez que pasaba un chico lindo, volvía la cabeza para mirarlo. (Whenever a cute guy walked by, she would turn her head to look at him.)

Real Life Examples of Volver in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, volvía a casa después de la escuela para almorzar. (When I was a child, I would come back home after school for lunch.)

Mis abuelos volvían a su pueblo natal cada verano. (My grandparents would return to their hometown every summer.)

Ella volvía a leer el mismo libro una y otra vez. (She would re-read the same book over and over again.)

El equipo volvía a entrenar después de cada derrota. (The team would go back to training after every defeat.)

Aunque volvía tarde del trabajo, siempre encontraba tiempo para estar con su familia. (Even though he would come back late from work, he always found time to be with his family.)

Cada vez que volvía de viaje, traía regalos para todos. (Every time he would come back from a trip, he would bring gifts for everyone.)

La banda volvía a tocar en el mismo bar cada fin de semana. (The band would play again at the same bar every weekend.)

Cuando volvía a casa después de una noche de fiesta, siempre se arrepentía al día siguiente. (When he would come back home after a night of partying, he would always regret it the next day.)

Ella volvía a llamar a su ex cada vez que se sentía sola. (She would call her ex again whenever she felt lonely.)

Aunque volvía a intentarlo una y otra vez, nunca lograba aprender a tocar la guitarra. (Even though he would try again and again, he could never manage to learn how to play the guitar.)

Cada vez que volvía a ver esa película, descubría algo nuevo. (Every time he would watch that movie again, he would discover something new.)

La pareja volvía a discutir sobre el mismo tema una y otra vez. (The couple would argue about the same topic over and over again.)

Aunque volvía a estudiar toda la noche, nunca aprobaba el examen. (Even though he would study all night again, he would never pass the exam.)

Ella volvía a comprar la misma marca de café cada vez que iba al supermercado. (She would buy the same brand of coffee again every time she went to the grocery store.)

Después de cada pelea, volvían a reconciliarse y todo volvía a la normalidad. (After every fight, they would reconcile again and everything would go back to normal.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Volver (to return) in the Imperfect Tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.