The Imperfect Tense of Ahorrar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo ahorraba dinero para comprarme un coche nuevo. (I used to save money to buy myself a new car.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Ahorrar (to save) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of ahorrar is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past.

Saving money: For example, De niño, ahorraba cada semana para comprarme un juguete. (As a child, I used to save up every week to buy myself a toy.)

Economizing or being frugal: For example, Mis abuelos ahorraban mucho en comida para poder pagar el alquiler. (My grandparents used to economize a lot on food in order to pay the rent.)

Colloquial usage: In some regions, it can mean “to avoid” or “to skip” something, as in Ahorraba las clases de matemáticas cuando podía. (I used to skip math classes when I could.)

Examples

Examples of Ahorrar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, ahorraba dinero para comprarme un videojuego. (When I was a child, I used to save money to buy myself a video game.)

Mis abuelos ahorraban una parte de su sueldo cada mes. (My grandparents used to save part of their salary every month.)

En la universidad, ahorrábamos para poder viajar en las vacaciones. (In college, we used to save up to be able to travel during the holidays.)

Antes de tener hijos, la pareja ahorraba para comprar una casa. (Before having kids, the couple used to save up to buy a house.)

Cuando ahorrábamos suficiente, nos dábamos un capricho. (When we saved up enough, we would treat ourselves.)

Mi hermano ahorraba para poder comprarse un coche nuevo. (My brother used to save up to be able to buy himself a new car.)

En aquella época, ahorrábamos para el futuro de nuestros hijos. (Back then, we used to save for our children’s future.)

Mis padres ahorraban para poder viajar cuando se jubilaran. (My parents used to save up to be able to travel when they retired.)

Cada vez que ahorraba un poco, lo invertía en acciones. (Whenever I saved up a little, I would invest it in stocks.)

De joven, ahorraba para poder independizarme. (When I was young, I used to save up to be able to become independent.)

En esa época, ahorrábamos para poder pagar la universidad de nuestros hijos. (Back then, we used to save up to be able to pay for our children’s university.)

Cuando ahorrábamos, podíamos darnos algunos lujos de vez en cuando. (When we saved up, we could afford some luxuries from time to time.)

Mis amigos y yo ahorrábamos para poder ir de vacaciones juntos. (My friends and I used to save up to be able to go on vacation together.)

En mi trabajo anterior, ahorraba para poder cambiar de coche. (At my previous job, I used to save up to be able to change cars.)

Cuando éramos más jóvenes, ahorrábamos para poder comprar nuestra primera casa. (When we were younger, we used to save up to be able to buy our first house.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Ahorrar (to save) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American 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.