The Imperfect Tense of Desaparecer is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, El gato desaparecía cada vez que venía el cartero. (The cat used to disappear every time the mailman came.)

Desaparecer is a regular -er verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the standard pattern for that verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Desaparecer (to disappear) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of desaparecer is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, or to set the scene for another past action.

Disappearing gradually: For example, El sol desaparecía lentamente detrás de las montañas. (The sun was gradually disappearing behind the mountains.)

Repeated action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, mi pelota desaparecía constantemente en el jardín del vecino. (When I was a child, my ball would constantly disappear into the neighbor’s yard.)

Setting the scene: For example, Desaparecía la luz del día mientras caminábamos por el bosque. (The daylight was disappearing as we walked through the woods.)

Idiomatic usage: For example, ¡Desaparece de mi vista! (Get out of my sight! / Beat it!)

Examples

Examples of Desaparecer in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, mi abuelo desaparecía durante horas en el bosque. (When he was a child, my grandfather would disappear for hours in the woods.)

El mago desaparecía objetos de una manera sorprendente en su show. (The magician made objects disappear in an amazing way during his show.)

Cada vez que desaparecía mi billetera, la encontraba en el fondo de mi bolso. (Whenever my wallet would disappear, I would find it at the bottom of my purse.)

La niebla espesa desaparecía lentamente mientras avanzaba la mañana. (The thick fog would gradually disappear as the morning went on.)

Ella desaparecía de la vista cada vez que salía a correr. (She would disappear from sight whenever she went out for a run.)

El dinero desaparecía rápidamente de mi cuenta bancaria debido a los gastos inesperados. (The money would disappear quickly from my bank account due to unexpected expenses.)

Nosotros desaparecíamos las huellas en la nieve para despistar a los animales. (We would erase the tracks in the snow to throw off the animals.)

La mancha desaparecía gradualmente de la ropa después de lavarla varias veces. (The stain would gradually disappear from the clothes after washing them several times.)

Mis padres desaparecían misteriosamente cada año en su aniversario. (My parents would mysteriously disappear every year on their anniversary.)

El dolor de cabeza desaparecía después de tomar una pastilla. (The headache would disappear after taking a pill.)

La comida desaparecía rápidamente del plato cuando tenía mucha hambre. (The food would disappear quickly from the plate when I was very hungry.)

Ellos desaparecían las pruebas para encubrir el crimen. (They would make the evidence disappear to cover up the crime.)

El miedo desaparecía una vez que encendía la luz en la habitación oscura. (The fear would disappear once I turned on the light in the dark room.)

La sonrisa desaparecía de su rostro cuando recibía malas noticias. (The smile would disappear from her face when she received bad news.)

Las estrellas desaparecían una a una cuando amanecía. (The stars would disappear one by one as dawn broke.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Desaparecer (to disappear) 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.