The Imperfect Tense of amar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo amaba a mi novia cuando éramos jóvenes. (I loved my girlfriend when we were young.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Amar (to love) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Expressing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Yo amaba a mi novia cuando era joven. (I loved my girlfriend when I was young.)

Describing repeated or habitual actions: For example, De niño, amaba jugar al fútbol todos los días. (As a child, I loved to play soccer every day.)

Expressing emotions, states, or descriptions in the past: For example, Amaba la forma en que me miraba. (I loved the way she looked at me.)

Idiomatic expressions: For example, ¡Amaba esa película! (I loved that movie! – expressing strong enthusiasm)

Examples

Examples of Amar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo amaba leer novelas de misterio cuando era niño. (I used to love reading mystery novels when I was a kid.)

Ellos amaban ir de vacaciones a la playa cada verano. (They loved going on vacation to the beach every summer.)

Tú amabas comer helado de chocolate, ¿verdad? (You used to love eating chocolate ice cream, didn’t you?)

Nosotros amábamos quedarnos despiertos hasta tarde viendo películas. (We loved staying up late watching movies.)

¿Amabas jugar al fútbol cuando eras chico? (Did you use to love playing soccer when you were a kid?)

Ella amaba escuchar música rock a todo volumen. (She loved listening to rock music at full blast.)

Vosotros amabais pasar el rato en el parque, ¿no? (You guys used to love hanging out at the park, didn’t you?)

Ustedes amaban ir de compras los fines de semana. (You all loved going shopping on the weekends.)

Yo amaba quedarme despierto hasta tarde leyendo comics. (I loved staying up late reading comics.)

¿Amabas comer tacos de carnitas los viernes? (Did you use to love eating carnitas tacos on Fridays?)

Ellas amaban ir al cine a ver películas de romance. (They loved going to the movies to watch romantic films.)

Nosotros amábamos jugar videojuegos hasta altas horas de la noche. (We loved playing video games until late at night.)

Tú amabas bailar en las fiestas, ¿no es cierto? (You used to love dancing at parties, didn’t you?)

Vosotros amabais ir de excursión los fines de semana. (You guys used to love going on hikes on the weekends.)

Él amaba cocinar platos exóticos para sus amigos. (He loved cooking exotic dishes for his friends.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Amar (to love) 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.