The Imperfect Tense of cambiar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Cuando era niño, cambiaba de opinión con frecuencia. (When I was a child, I used to change my mind frequently.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cambiar (to change) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Expressing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, cambiaba de canal cada cinco minutos. (When I was a child, I would change the channel every five minutes.)

Describing a repeated action in the past: For example, Cada verano, cambiábamos de casa de vacaciones. (Every summer, we would change vacation homes.)

Describing a state of being or description in the past: For example, El clima cambiaba constantemente. (The weather was constantly changing.)

Expressing a polite request: For example, ¿Cambiabas el canal, por favor? (Would you change the channel, please?)

Expressing a hypothetical situation: For example, Si cambiara de trabajo, ganaría más dinero. (If I changed jobs, I would earn more money.)

Expressing a habitual action in the past: For example, Siempre cambiaba de ropa antes de salir. (I would always change clothes before going out.)

Expressing a progressive action in the past: For example, Estaba cambiando de canal cuando sonó el teléfono. (I was changing the channel when the phone rang.)

Examples

Examples of Cambiar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, cambiaba de opinión constantemente. (When I was a child, I used to change my mind constantly.)

Ella cambiaba los muebles de lugar cada vez que se aburría. (She would rearrange the furniture whenever she got bored.)

En esa época, cambiábamos de trabajo con mucha frecuencia. (Back then, we used to change jobs very often.)

Ustedes cambiaban de restaurante cada fin de semana. (You (plural) would change restaurants every weekend.)

Mi hermano cambiaba de novia cada mes. (My brother would change girlfriends every month.)

Antes, cambiábamos de coche cada dos años. (Before, we used to change cars every two years.)

Cuando viajábamos, cambiábamos de hotel con frecuencia. (When we traveled, we would change hotels frequently.)

En la universidad, cambiaba de carrera cada semestre. (In college, I would change majors every semester.)

Mis abuelos cambiaban de casa cada vez que se jubilaban. (My grandparents would change houses every time they retired.)

Ella cambiaba de peinado cada vez que iba a la peluquería. (She would change her hairstyle every time she went to the hair salon.)

Cuando éramos jóvenes, cambiábamos de trabajo como de camisa. (When we were young, we would change jobs like we changed shirts.)

Ustedes cambiaban de coche cada vez que salía un modelo nuevo. (You (plural) would change cars every time a new model came out.)

Yo cambiaba de opinión sobre la política constantemente. (I would constantly change my mind about politics.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cambiar (to change) 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.