The Imperfect Tense of Llegar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Llegaba a la escuela a las 8 de la mañana todos los días. (I used to arrive at school at 8 in the morning every day.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Llegar (to arrive) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

Arriving or getting somewhere: For example, Cuando llegaba a la escuela, siempre saludaba a mis amigos. (When I arrived at school, I always greeted my friends.)

Reaching a certain time or age: For example, Cuando llegaba la hora de cenar, toda la familia se reunía. (When dinner time arrived, the whole family would gather.)

Happening or occurring: For example, Cada vez que llegaba el verano, viajábamos a la playa. (Every time summer arrived, we would travel to the beach.)

Colloquial usage: In some Latin American countries, llegar can be used informally to mean “to arrive at a conclusion” or “to understand something.” For example, No llegaba a entender por qué me mentía. (I couldn’t understand why he was lying to me.)

Examples

Examples of Llegar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando llegaba a la oficina, siempre saludaba a mis compañeros. (When I arrived at the office, I always greeted my coworkers.)

El año pasado, llegábamos temprano al parque para hacer ejercicio. (Last year, we would arrive early at the park to exercise.)

Mis amigos llegaban tarde a la fiesta, como siempre. (My friends would arrive late to the party, as usual.)

Cuando llegaba el fin de semana, descansaba en casa. (When the weekend arrived, I would rest at home.)

En esa época, llegábamos a la playa al amanecer para surfear. (Back then, we would arrive at the beach at dawn to surf.)

Ella llegaba tarde al trabajo y su jefe se enojaba. (She would arrive late to work and her boss would get angry.)

Cuando llegaba la primavera, las flores florecían en el jardín. (When spring arrived, the flowers would bloom in the garden.)

Los turistas llegaban en masa durante las vacaciones. (Tourists would arrive in droves during the holidays.)

Cada vez que llegaba a un nuevo lugar, exploraba las calles. (Whenever I arrived at a new place, I would explore the streets.)

En la universidad, llegábamos temprano para conseguir un buen asiento. (In college, we would arrive early to get a good seat.)

Mis abuelos llegaban a la iglesia antes que nadie. (My grandparents would arrive at church before anyone else.)

Cuando llegaba el correo, revisaba si había cartas para mí. (When the mail arrived, I would check if there were any letters for me.)

En las reuniones familiares, llegábamos con regalos para los niños. (At family gatherings, we would arrive with gifts for the kids.)

Mis hermanos llegaban tarde a la cena y la comida se enfriaba. (My siblings would arrive late for dinner and the food would get cold.)

Cada vez que llegaba un paquete, me emocionaba como un niño. (Whenever a package arrived, I would get excited like a kid.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Llegar (to arrive) 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.