The Imperfect Tense of Cumplir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo cumplía con mis deberes cada noche. (I used to fulfill my duties every night.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cumplir (to fulfill) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

Expressing habitual actions: For example, Cuando era niño, siempre cumplía con mis tareas. (When I was a child, I always did my homework.)

Describing actions in progress: For example, Estaba cumpliendo con mi promesa cuando me interrumpieron. (I was keeping my promise when they interrupted me.)

Expressing age: For example, El año pasado cumplía 30 años. (Last year I was turning 30 years old.)

Expressing emotions or states of being: For example, No cumplía con las expectativas de mis padres. (I wasn’t meeting my parents’ expectations.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: For example, ¡Cumplía en la cama! (Vulgar way of saying someone was good at sex.)

Examples

Examples of Cumplir in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, cumplía con todas mis tareas antes de salir a jugar. (When I was a child, I would complete all my chores before going out to play.)

Mi hermana cumplía con su promesa de ayudarme con mis deberes cada semana. (My sister would keep her promise to help me with my homework every week.)

El equipo cumplía con el entrenamiento riguroso para prepararse para el campeonato. (The team would complete the rigorous training to prepare for the championship.)

Aunque no le gustaba, ella cumplía con sus obligaciones familiares. (Although she didn’t like it, she would fulfill her family obligations.)

Nosotros cumplíamos con nuestras metas mensuales en el trabajo. (We would meet our monthly goals at work.)

Ellos cumplían con la tradición de reunirse en Navidad. (They would uphold the tradition of gathering at Christmas.)

Tú cumplías con tus responsabilidades como voluntario en el refugio de animales. (You would fulfill your responsibilities as a volunteer at the animal shelter.)

Ella cumplía con su palabra, sin importar las circunstancias. (She would keep her word, no matter the circumstances.)

¿Cumplías con tus deberes de estudiante cuando eras joven? (Would you fulfill your duties as a student when you were young?)

En la empresa, cumplíamos con los plazos de entrega estrictamente. (At the company, we would strictly meet the delivery deadlines.)

Mis abuelos cumplían con la tradición de hacer tamales en Navidad. (My grandparents would uphold the tradition of making tamales at Christmas.)

Aunque era difícil, cumplía con mi dieta estricta para mantenerme saludable. (Although it was difficult, I would stick to my strict diet to stay healthy.)

El equipo de ventas cumplía con sus cuotas mensuales para ganar bonos. (The sales team would meet their monthly quotas to earn bonuses.)

Cuando era joven, cumplía con mis sueños de viajar por el mundo. (When I was young, I would fulfill my dreams of traveling the world.)

Mis padres cumplían con su promesa de llevarnos de vacaciones cada verano. (My parents would keep their promise to take us on vacation every summer.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cumplir (to fulfill) in the Imperfect Tense 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.