The Imperfect Tense of Eliminar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Eliminaba los archivos viejos cada semana. (I used to delete the old files every week.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Eliminar (to eliminate) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Removing or getting rid of something: For example, Eliminaba la basura cada semana. (I used to take out the trash every week.) This can also be used figuratively, like Eliminaba mis preocupaciones con un buen libro. (I would get rid of my worries with a good book.)

Deleting or erasing: For example, Siempre eliminaba los correos no deseados. (I would always delete the unwanted emails.) In a more colloquial sense, ¿Eliminaste el historial de navegación? (Did you delete the browsing history?)

Removing or excluding: For example, El juez eliminaba a los candidatos poco cualificados. (The judge would eliminate the unqualified candidates.) Colloquially, Me eliminaron del grupo de WhatsApp. (They kicked me out of the WhatsApp group.)

Killing or destroying (vulgar): For example, El villano eliminaba a sus enemigos sin piedad. (The villain would eliminate his enemies without mercy.) In very rude slang, ¡Voy a eliminar a ese cabrón! (I’m going to kill that bastard!)

Examples

Examples of Eliminar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo eliminaba los archivos viejos de mi computadora cada mes. (I used to delete the old files from my computer every month.)

Ellos eliminaban las malas hierbas del jardín los fines de semana. (They used to remove the weeds from the garden on weekends.)

Tú eliminabas los correos no deseados de tu bandeja de entrada. (You used to delete the unwanted emails from your inbox.)

Nosotros eliminábamos las manchas difíciles con un limpiador especial. (We used to remove tough stains with a special cleaner.)

Vosotros eliminabais las fotos antiguas para liberar espacio en el teléfono. (You (plural) used to delete old photos to free up space on the phone.)

Ella eliminaba los comentarios ofensivos de su página web. (She used to remove offensive comments from her website.)

Ustedes eliminaban las aplicaciones que ya no usaban. (You (plural) used to uninstall the apps you no longer used.)

Él eliminaba los correos electrónicos spam de su bandeja de entrada. (He used to delete spam emails from his inbox.)

Yo eliminaba las notificaciones molestas de mi teléfono inteligente. (I used to dismiss annoying notifications from my smartphone.)

Ellas eliminaban las manchas de la ropa con un quitamanchas. (They used to remove stains from clothes with a stain remover.)

Tú eliminabas los contactos antiguos de tu agenda telefónica. (You used to delete old contacts from your phone book.)

Nosotros eliminábamos los archivos temporales para liberar espacio en el disco duro. (We used to delete temporary files to free up space on the hard drive.)

Vosotros eliminabais las cookies del navegador web para mantener la privacidad. (You (plural) used to clear the web browser cookies to maintain privacy.)

Ella eliminaba los mensajes de texto antiguos para ahorrar espacio. (She used to delete old text messages to save space.)

Ustedes eliminaban las contraseñas guardadas después de usarlas. (You (plural) used to remove saved passwords after using them.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Eliminar (to eliminate) 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.