The Imperfect Tense of llover is used to describe ongoing or repeated rain in the past, for example: Llovía mucho cuando era niño (It rained a lot when I was a child). While llover is typically used impersonally in the third person singular, all forms are shown here as the verb can be used metaphorically or poetically.

Llover is a regular -er verb, so it follows the standard conjugation pattern for this verb type in the Imperfect Tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Llover (to rain) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of llover is used to describe ongoing or repeated rain in the past.

Literal meaning: For example, Llovía mucho esa semana. (It rained a lot that week.)

Metaphorical meaning: For example, Me llovían las críticas por mi mal desempeño. (The criticisms rained down on me for my poor performance.)

Slang/Idiomatic meaning: For example, ¡Llovieron las oportunidades después de mi gran éxito! (Opportunities poured in after my great success!) This usage implies an abundance or excess of something.

Rude/Vulgar meaning: For example, ¡Me llovieron los insultos de esos tipos! (Those guys rained insults down on me!) This usage implies being subjected to a barrage of verbal abuse or insults.

Examples

Examples of Llover in the Imperfect Tense

Mientras llovía a cántaros, me refugié bajo un toldo. (While it was pouring rain, I took shelter under an awning.)

Las ideas llovían en mi mente como una tormenta de creatividad. (Ideas were raining down in my mind like a storm of creativity.)

En aquella época, el dinero no llovía precisamente. (Back then, money was not exactly raining down.)

Los elogios llovían sobre el equipo después de su gran victoria. (Praise was raining down on the team after their great victory.)

Aunque llovía a cántaros, los niños seguían jugando en el parque. (Even though it was pouring rain, the children kept playing in the park.)

Yo llovía lágrimas de felicidad cuando nació mi hijo. (I was raining tears of joy when my son was born.)

Las críticas llovían sobre el político después de su controvertido discurso. (Criticism was raining down on the politician after his controversial speech.)

Ellos llovían preguntas al conferencista durante la sesión de preguntas y respuestas. (They were raining down questions on the speaker during the Q&A session.)

Tú llovías sudor después de correr esa maratón. (You were raining sweat after running that marathon.)

Las oportunidades llovían para los emprendedores en esa época de auge económico. (Opportunities were raining down for entrepreneurs during that economic boom.)

Nosotros llovíamos aplausos al artista después de su increíble actuación. (We were raining down applause on the artist after their incredible performance.)

Ella llovía cumplidos a su novio en su aniversario. (She was raining down compliments on her boyfriend on their anniversary.)

Las notificaciones llovían en mi teléfono sin parar. (Notifications were raining down on my phone non-stop.)

Yo llovía disculpas después de llegar tarde a la reunión. (I was raining down apologies after arriving late to the meeting.)

Los fanáticos llovían vítores a su equipo favorito durante el partido. (The fans were raining down cheers on their favorite team during the game.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Llover (to rain) in the Imperfect Tense 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.