The Imperfect Tense of asustarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, for example, Me asustaba cada vez que veía una araña. (I would get scared every time I saw a spider.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Asustarse (to get scared) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of asustarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, or to set the scene for another action.

To be scared/frightened: For example, Cuando era niño, me asustaba con las tormentas eléctricas. (When I was a child, I used to get scared of thunderstorms.)

To get startled/spooked: For example, El gato se asustaba cada vez que sonaba el timbre. (The cat would get startled every time the doorbell rang.)

To be afraid (of something): For example, De pequeño, me asustaba la oscuridad. (When I was little, I was afraid of the dark.)

To get nervous/anxious: For example, Siempre se asustaba antes de los exámenes. (She would always get nervous before exams.)

To freak out (colloquial): For example, No te asustes, ¡era una broma! (Don’t freak out, it was just a joke!)

Examples

Examples of Asustarse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, me asustaba cada vez que veía una película de terror. (When I was a child, I would get scared every time I watched a horror movie.)

Ella se asustaba con facilidad al escuchar ruidos extraños en la noche. (She would easily get scared when hearing strange noises at night.)

El perro se asustaba y ladraba cuando los vecinos prendían fuegos artificiales. (The dog would get scared and bark when the neighbors set off fireworks.)

Nosotros nos asustábamos mucho durante los temblores, aunque fueran leves. (We would get very scared during earthquakes, even if they were minor.)

Ellos se asustaban al ver cucarachas en la cocina. (They would get scared when seeing cockroaches in the kitchen.)

Tú te asustabas con las historias de fantasmas que contaban tus amigos. (You would get scared by the ghost stories your friends told.)

Yo me asustaba cada vez que tenía que hablar en público. (I would get scared every time I had to speak in public.)

Las personas mayores se asustaban con la idea de usar la tecnología moderna. (Older people would get scared by the idea of using modern technology.)

Los niños se asustaban cuando veían payasos en la calle. (Children would get scared when they saw clowns on the street.)

Ella se asustaba con las noticias sobre crímenes violentos en la ciudad. (She would get scared by the news about violent crimes in the city.)

Tú te asustabas cada vez que tenías que viajar en avión. (You would get scared every time you had to travel by plane.)

Nosotros nos asustábamos cuando veíamos serpientes en el campo. (We would get scared when we saw snakes in the countryside.)

Ellos se asustaban con las películas de terror de culto. (They would get scared by cult horror movies.)

Yo me asustaba cuando escuchaba historias sobre experiencias paranormales. (I would get scared when I heard stories about paranormal experiences.)

Las personas se asustaban con los rumores sobre secuestros en la región. (People would get scared by the rumors about kidnappings in the region.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Asustarse (to get scared) 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.