The Imperfect Tense of aparecer is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, Cada mañana aparecía el sol por el horizonte. (Every morning the sun appeared on the horizon.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Aparecer (to appear) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of aparecer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

To appear or show up: For example, Cada mañana aparecía un arco iris después de la lluvia. (Every morning a rainbow would appear after the rain.)

To seem or give the impression of: For example, El chico aparecía tímido, pero en realidad era muy extrovertido. (The boy seemed shy, but he was actually very outgoing.)

To come into view or become visible: For example, Cuando salía el sol, las montañas aparecían poco a poco. (As the sun came out, the mountains gradually appeared.)

To materialize or manifest: For example, De repente, aparecía un fantasma en la habitación oscura. (Suddenly, a ghost would appear in the dark room.)

To be published or released (colloquial): For example, El nuevo disco de mi grupo favorito aparecía cada año. (My favorite band’s new album would come out every year.)

Examples

Examples of Aparecer in the Imperfect Tense

Cada vez que aparecía una nueva estrella en el cielo, los niños se emocionaban. (Whenever a new star appeared in the sky, the children got excited.)

El fantasma aparecía únicamente en las noches de luna llena. (The ghost only appeared on full moon nights.)

Cuando aparecías en la fiesta, todos se alegraban. (When you appeared at the party, everyone was happy.)

Aunque aparecíamos cansados después del viaje, estábamos contentos de haber llegado. (Although we appeared tired after the trip, we were happy to have arrived.)

Cada vez que aparecía un nuevo reto en el trabajo, lo afrontaba con entusiasmo. (Whenever a new challenge appeared at work, I faced it with enthusiasm.)

El equipo de fútbol aparecía en la cancha con mucha energía. (The soccer team appeared on the field with a lot of energy.)

Aunque aparecíamos tranquilos por fuera, por dentro estábamos nerviosos. (Although we appeared calm on the outside, we were nervous on the inside.)

Cuando aparecía la oportunidad de viajar, nunca la dejaba pasar. (When the opportunity to travel appeared, I never let it pass.)

El rumor aparecía cada vez que había un escándalo político. (The rumor appeared whenever there was a political scandal.)

Tú aparecías en mis sueños todas las noches. (You appeared in my dreams every night.)

La solución al problema aparecía clara después de mucho pensarlo. (The solution to the problem appeared clear after thinking about it a lot.)

Cada vez que aparecíamos en público, la gente nos reconocía. (Whenever we appeared in public, people recognized us.)

El artista aparecía en los medios cada vez que lanzaba una nueva obra. (The artist appeared in the media whenever they released a new work.)

Aunque aparecía tranquilo, por dentro estaba muy preocupado. (Although he appeared calm, he was very worried inside.)

Cada vez que aparecíamos en la oficina, nuestros compañeros nos saludaban con entusiasmo. (Whenever we appeared at the office, our colleagues greeted us enthusiastically.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Aparecer (to appear) 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.