The Imperfect Tense of Describir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo describía la escena a mi amigo. (I was describing the scene to my friend.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Describir (to describe) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of describir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions of people, places, or things in the past.

Describing ongoing actions: For example, Yo describía los detalles del proyecto a mi jefe. (I was describing the project details to my boss.)

Describing repeated actions: For example, Cada vez que iba al parque, describía las flores y los árboles. (Every time I went to the park, I would describe the flowers and trees.)

Describing people, places, or things: For example, La casa que describía era enorme y lujosa. (The house I was describing was huge and luxurious.)

Expressing ongoing states or conditions: For example, Describía la situación como desesperada. (I was describing the situation as desperate.)

Expressing habitual actions: For example, Siempre describía sus sueños con lujo de detalles. (He would always describe his dreams in great detail.)

Examples

Examples of Describir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo describía el paisaje con detalle a mi amigo. (I was describing the landscape in detail to my friend.)

Ella describía su experiencia de viaje con entusiasmo. (She was describing her travel experience enthusiastically.)

Nosotros describíamos la película con lujo de detalles. (We were describing the movie in great detail.)

Tú describías el plato de una manera que me hacía agua la boca. (You were describing the dish in a way that made my mouth water.)

Ellos describían el concierto como si hubieran estado ahí. (They were describing the concert as if they had been there.)

Mi hermana describía su nuevo trabajo con emoción. (My sister was describing her new job with excitement.)

Ustedes describían el libro con tanta pasión que me dieron ganas de leerlo. (You were describing the book with so much passion that it made me want to read it.)

El guía describía los monumentos históricos con gran conocimiento. (The guide was describing the historical monuments with great knowledge.)

Mis padres describían su luna de miel como si fuera ayer. (My parents were describing their honeymoon as if it were yesterday.)

El chef describía los ingredientes de la receta con precisión. (The chef was describing the ingredients of the recipe with precision.)

Los niños describían sus sueños con tanta imaginación que parecían reales. (The children were describing their dreams with so much imagination that they seemed real.)

Yo describía mi día con lujo de detalles a mi diario. (I was describing my day in great detail to my diary.)

Tú describías el partido de fútbol con tanta emoción que parecía que estabas ahí. (You were describing the soccer game with so much excitement that it seemed like you were there.)

Ella describía su nueva casa con orgullo. (She was describing her new house with pride.)

Nosotros describíamos nuestras vacaciones con nostalgia. (We were describing our vacation with nostalgia.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Describir (to describe) 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.