The Imperfect Tense of cepillarse is used to describe habitual or repeated actions in the past, for example, Me cepillaba los dientes todas las noches antes de acostarme. (I used to brush my teeth every night before going to bed.)

Cepillarse is a regular -ar verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the regular pattern for that verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cepillarse (to brush oneself) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

To brush one’s teeth: Por ejemplo, de niño me cepillaba los dientes todas las noches. (As a child, I used to brush my teeth every night.)

To brush one’s hair: Por ejemplo, ella se cepillaba el pelo antes de salir. (She would brush her hair before going out.)

Slang: To have sex: Por ejemplo, en esa época me cepillaba a cualquier chica que me gustara. (Back then, I used to sleep with any girl I liked.) [Vulgar usage]

Examples

Examples of Cepillarse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, me cepillaba los dientes todas las noches antes de acostarme. (When I was a child, I brushed my teeth every night before going to bed.)

Mi hermana se cepillaba el cabello por las mañanas antes de ir a la escuela. (My sister brushed her hair in the mornings before going to school.)

Nosotros nos cepillábamos los zapatos antes de salir de casa. (We brushed our shoes before leaving the house.)

Ellos se cepillaban los dientes después de cada comida. (They brushed their teeth after every meal.)

Tú te cepillabas el pelo con mucho cuidado para lucir bien arreglado. (You brushed your hair very carefully to look well-groomed.)

Vosotros os cepillabais los abrigos para quitarles el polvo. (You (plural) brushed your coats to remove the dust.)

Ustedes se cepillaban los dientes después de tomar café. (You (plural) brushed your teeth after drinking coffee.)

Ella se cepillaba el cabello antes de salir a trabajar. (She brushed her hair before going to work.)

Yo me cepillaba los zapatos antes de una entrevista importante. (I brushed my shoes before an important interview.)

Él se cepillaba los dientes después de fumar un cigarrillo. (He brushed his teeth after smoking a cigarette.)

Nosotras nos cepillábamos el pelo antes de una cita. (We (feminine) brushed our hair before a date.)

Ellas se cepillaban los abrigos antes de entrar a la oficina. (They (feminine) brushed their coats before entering the office.)

Tú te cepillabas los zapatos antes de ir a la iglesia. (You brushed your shoes before going to church.)

Vosotros os cepillabais los dientes después de comer dulces. (You (plural) brushed your teeth after eating sweets.)

Ustedes se cepillaban el cabello antes de una reunión importante. (You (plural) brushed your hair before an important meeting.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cepillarse (to brush oneself) 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.