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Conjugation Chart

“Recibir” (to receive) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Recibir”

The Imperfect Tense of recibir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo recibía muchas cartas de mi abuela cuando era niño. (I used to receive many letters from my grandmother when I was a child.)

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

How to Use Recibir in the Imperfect Tense

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

Receiving something habitually or repeatedly: For example, Cuando era niño, recibía regalos de mis abuelos en Navidad. (When I was a child, I used to receive gifts from my grandparents at Christmas.)

Describing an action in progress: For example, Recibía una llamada cuando sonó el timbre. (I was receiving a call when the doorbell rang.)

Expressing age or time: For example, A los 15 años, recibía clases de guitarra. (At 15 years old, I was taking guitar lessons.)

Colloquial usage: For example, ¡Recibía una paliza de mi hermano mayor! (I used to get my ass kicked by my older brother!)

Real Life Examples of Recibir in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, recibía regalos de mis abuelos en cada cumpleaños. (When I was a child, I used to receive gifts from my grandparents on every birthday.)

Mi hermana recibía buenas calificaciones en la escuela porque estudiaba mucho. (My sister used to get good grades in school because she studied a lot.)

En esa época, la familia recibía visitas de parientes lejanos durante las fiestas. (Back then, the family used to receive visits from distant relatives during the holidays.)

Antes, recibíamos el periódico todas las mañanas en la puerta de la casa. (Before, we used to receive the newspaper every morning at the front door.)

Ella recibía un salario bajo por su trabajo en la fábrica. (She used to receive a low salary for her work at the factory.)

Tú recibías muchas llamadas de tus amigos cuando tenías el celular nuevo. (You used to receive many calls from your friends when you had the new cell phone.)

Ellos recibían ayuda financiera del gobierno para pagar la renta. (They used to receive financial assistance from the government to pay the rent.)

En aquellos días, recibíamos cartas de nuestros seres queridos que vivían lejos. (In those days, we used to receive letters from our loved ones who lived far away.)

Yo recibía clases particulares de matemáticas después de la escuela. (I used to receive private math lessons after school.)

La compañía recibía quejas constantes de los clientes por el mal servicio. (The company used to receive constant complaints from customers for poor service.)

Nosotros recibíamos paquetes de comida de nuestros familiares en el extranjero. (We used to receive food packages from our relatives abroad.)

Él recibía un bono anual por su buen desempeño laboral. (He used to receive an annual bonus for his good job performance.)

Ustedes recibían felicitaciones de sus maestros por su dedicación. (You (plural) used to receive congratulations from your teachers for your dedication.)

En la universidad, recibíamos asesoría académica de los profesores. (In college, we used to receive academic advising from the professors.)

Ellas recibían descuentos en las tiendas por ser miembros del club. (They (feminine) used to receive discounts at stores for being club members.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Recibir (to receive) 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.