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Conjugation Chart

“Aparecer” (to appear) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Aparecer”

The Imperfect Tense of Aparecer is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example: Cada verano aparecía un cometa en el cielo. (Every summer a comet appeared in the sky.)

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

How to Use Aparecer in the Imperfect Tense

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

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, El fantasma aparecía en la casa abandonada cada noche. (The ghost appeared in the abandoned house every night.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, mi abuelo aparecía en la puerta de la cocina cada vez que mi abuela cocinaba. (When I was a child, my grandfather would appear at the kitchen door every time my grandmother cooked.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, La solución aparecía turbia y confusa. (The solution appeared murky and confusing.)

Expressing surprise or unexpectedness: For example, De repente, apareció un payaso en la fiesta. (Suddenly, a clown appeared at the party.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: For example, ¡Aparécete por aquí más seguido, cabrón! (Show up around here more often, dude! – rude/informal)

Real Life Examples of Aparecer in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando aparecía el sol por las mañanas, me sentía lleno de energía. (When the sun appeared in the mornings, I felt full of energy.)

En la fiesta, aparecían personas que no conocía. (At the party, people I didn’t know kept appearing.)

Cada vez que aparecía una nueva aplicación, la descargaba de inmediato. (Whenever a new app appeared, I downloaded it right away.)

El fantasma aparecía sólo de noche, según los rumores. (The ghost appeared only at night, according to the rumors.)

Mientras caminaba por el parque, aparecían ardillas por todas partes. (While walking through the park, squirrels kept appearing everywhere.)

Cada vez que aparecía un nuevo reto, lo enfrentaba con entusiasmo. (Whenever a new challenge appeared, I faced it with enthusiasm.)

En la pantalla aparecían errores constantemente. (Errors kept appearing on the screen constantly.)

Ella aparecía en mis sueños casi todas las noches. (She appeared in my dreams almost every night.)

Cuando aparecía una nueva tendencia, mis amigos la seguían de inmediato. (Whenever a new trend appeared, my friends followed it right away.)

En la película de terror, el monstruo aparecía de repente y asustaba a todos. (In the horror movie, the monster suddenly appeared and scared everyone.)

Cada vez que aparecía una nueva oportunidad laboral, enviaba mi currículum. (Whenever a new job opportunity appeared, I sent my resume.)

Durante la tormenta, aparecían relámpagos en el cielo. (During the storm, lightning kept appearing in the sky.)

En la novela, el protagonista aparecía en situaciones peligrosas constantemente. (In the novel, the protagonist constantly appeared in dangerous situations.)

Cuando aparecía un nuevo chisme, se esparcía rápidamente. (Whenever a new gossip appeared, it spread quickly.)

En el juego de realidad aumentada, aparecían criaturas virtuales en el mundo real. (In the augmented reality game, virtual creatures appeared in the real world.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Aparecer (to appear) in the Imperfect 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.