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Conjugation Chart of “Tocar” (to play (instrument), to touch) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Tocar”

The Imperfect Tense of tocar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo tocaba la guitarra cuando era niño. (I used to play the guitar when I was a child.)

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

How to Use Tocar in the Imperfect Tense

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

To play (an instrument): For example, Cuando era niño, tocaba la guitarra en la escuela. (When I was a child, I used to play the guitar at school.)

To touch: For example, No tocaba la comida porque estaba muy caliente. (I wasn’t touching the food because it was very hot.)

To knock (on a door): For example, Tocaba la puerta pero nadie respondía. (I was knocking on the door but no one answered.)

To be someone’s turn: For example, Me tocaba lavar los platos después de la cena. (It was my turn to wash the dishes after dinner.)

To concern or affect (colloquial): For example, A mí no me tocaba ese problema. (That problem didn’t concern me.)

To have sex (vulgar): For example, Anoche toqué a mi novia. (Last night I had sex with my girlfriend.)

Real Life Examples of Tocar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, tocaba la guitarra todas las tardes. (When I was a child, I used to play the guitar every afternoon.)

Mi abuela tocaba el piano con mucha gracia. (My grandmother used to play the piano very gracefully.)

Los mariachis tocaban canciones alegres en la fiesta. (The mariachi band used to play lively songs at the party.)

Ella tocaba la batería en una banda de rock. (She used to play the drums in a rock band.)

Antes, tocábamos el violín en la orquesta de la escuela. (Before, we used to play the violin in the school orchestra.)

En su juventud, tocaba la trompeta en un grupo de jazz. (In his youth, he used to play the trumpet in a jazz band.)

Mis amigos y yo tocábamos la guitarra y cantábamos canciones populares. (My friends and I used to play the guitar and sing popular songs.)

Cada domingo, tocaban música en vivo en el parque central. (Every Sunday, they used to play live music in the central park.)

Los músicos callejeros tocaban sus instrumentos para ganarse la vida. (The street musicians used to play their instruments to make a living.)

En las fiestas, tocábamos las maracas y bailábamos al ritmo de la música. (At parties, we used to play the maracas and dance to the rhythm of the music.)

Mis primos tocaban el saxofón en la banda de la escuela. (My cousins used to play the saxophone in the school band.)

Cuando era joven, tocaba la flauta dulce en el coro de la iglesia. (When I was young, I used to play the recorder in the church choir.)

Los músicos ambulantes tocaban sus instrumentos en las calles para entretener a los transeúntes. (The street musicians used to play their instruments on the streets to entertain passersby.)

En las noches de karaoke, tocábamos canciones conocidas y cantábamos a todo pulmón. (On karaoke nights, we used to play well-known songs and sing at the top of our lungs.)

Mis abuelos tocaban el acordeón en las fiestas familiares. (My grandparents used to play the accordion at family gatherings.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Tocar (to play (instrument), to touch) 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.