The Imperfect Tense of Esperar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Esperaba el autobús todas las mañanas. (I used to wait for the bus every morning.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Esperar (to wait, hope) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

Waiting or expecting: For example, Esperaba el autobús todas las mañanas. (I used to wait for the bus every morning.) This is one of the most common uses of this verb tense.

Hoping: For example, Esperábamos que nos dieran un aumento. (We were hoping they would give us a raise.)

Awaiting: For example, Los fans esperaban ansiosos el concierto. (The fans were eagerly awaiting the concert.)

Slang/Idiomatic: ¡Espérate un toque! (Wait a minute! / Hold your horses!) is a common colloquial phrase used to ask someone to be patient.

Examples

Examples of Esperar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo esperaba con ansias el fin de semana para poder descansar. (I was eagerly awaiting the weekend so I could rest.)

Ellos esperaban que el tráfico no fuera tan intenso. (They were hoping the traffic wouldn’t be so heavy.)

Nosotros esperábamos con ilusión la llegada de las vacaciones. (We were excitedly awaiting the arrival of the holidays.)

Tú esperabas que tu equipo favorito ganara el partido, ¿verdad? (You were hoping your favorite team would win the game, right?)

Ella esperaba con paciencia su turno en la fila. (She was patiently waiting her turn in line.)

¿Esperabas que te diera una sorpresa para tu cumpleaños? (Were you expecting me to give you a surprise for your birthday?)

Mis amigos esperaban con entusiasmo el concierto de su banda favorita. (My friends were eagerly awaiting the concert of their favorite band.)

Yo esperaba con impaciencia el momento de irme de vacaciones, ¿sabes? (I was impatiently waiting for the time to go on vacation, you know?)

Ellas esperaban que las noticias fueran mejores. (They were hoping the news would be better.)

Tú esperabas con nerviosismo los resultados del examen, ¿no? (You were nervously awaiting the exam results, weren’t you?)

Nosotros esperábamos con emoción la llegada de los familiares para la fiesta. (We were excitedly awaiting the arrival of relatives for the party.)

Él esperaba con calma su turno para ser atendido. (He was calmly waiting his turn to be served.)

Ustedes esperaban con ansias el estreno de la nueva película, ¿cierto? (You all were eagerly awaiting the premiere of the new movie, right?)

Yo esperaba con preocupación noticias de mi familia durante el huracán. (I was anxiously awaiting news from my family during the hurricane.)

Ellos esperaban con incertidumbre los resultados de las elecciones. (They were awaiting the election results with uncertainty.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Esperar (to wait, hope) 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.