The Imperfect Tense of Describir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo describía la escena a mi amigo. (I was describing the scene to my friend.)

Describir is a regular -ir verb, so its Imperfect conjugations follow the typical pattern for that verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Describir (to describe) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of describir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions of people, places, or things in the past.

Describing ongoing actions: For example, Yo describía la escena a mi amigo mientras ocurría. (I was describing the scene to my friend as it was happening.)

Describing repeated actions: For example, Cada vez que íbamos al parque, mi hermano describía los pájaros que veía. (Every time we went to the park, my brother would describe the birds he saw.)

Describing people, places, or things: For example, La casa que describía era enorme y tenía un jardín precioso. (The house he was describing was huge and had a beautiful garden.)

Expressing ongoing states or conditions: For example, Describía el ambiente como tenso y desagradable. (He was describing the atmosphere as tense and unpleasant.)

Expressing habitual actions: For example, Siempre describía sus vacaciones con lujo de detalles. (He would always describe his vacations in great detail.)

Examples

Examples of Describir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo describía el paisaje con detalle en mi diario de viaje. (I described the landscape in detail in my travel journal.)

Ella describía su día con entusiasmo durante nuestra conversación. (She described her day enthusiastically during our conversation.)

El guía turístico describía los monumentos históricos con pasión. (The tour guide described the historical monuments with passion.)

Nosotros describíamos las noticias de última hora con preocupación. (We described the breaking news with concern.)

Tú describías tus metas personales con determinación. (You described your personal goals with determination.)

Vosotros describíais el proyecto laboral con claridad. (You all described the work project clearly.)

Ellos describían la película con emoción después de verla. (They described the movie with excitement after watching it.)

Yo describía a mi familia con cariño en las cartas que les enviaba. (I described my family with affection in the letters I sent them.)

Tú describías la comida de esa región con tanto detalle que me daba hambre. (You described the food from that region in such detail that it made me hungry.)

Ella describía su nuevo trabajo con orgullo a sus amigos. (She described her new job with pride to her friends.)

Nosotros describíamos el concierto con emoción, ¡fue increíble! (We described the concert with excitement, it was incredible!)

Vosotros describíais la situación con tanta claridad que todos lo entendimos. (You all described the situation so clearly that everyone understood it.)

Ellos describían el libro con tanta pasión que me animé a leerlo. (They described the book with such passion that it made me want to read it.)

Tú describías el paisaje con tanta belleza que parecía un sueño. (You described the landscape so beautifully that it seemed like a dream.)

Ella describía su experiencia en el extranjero con nostalgia. (She described her experience abroad with nostalgia.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Describir (to describe) 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.