The Imperfect Tense of Entender is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo entendía las instrucciones. (I understood the instructions.)

Entender is a regular -er verb, so its Imperfect conjugations follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Entender (to understand) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of entender is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

To understand: For example, Cuando era niño, no entendía las matemáticas. (When I was a child, I didn’t understand math.)

To comprehend: For example, Mi abuela no entendía el inglés. (My grandmother didn’t understand English.)

To perceive: For example, Entendía que algo andaba mal. (I perceived that something was wrong.)

To make sense of: For example, No entendía las instrucciones. (I didn’t make sense of the instructions.)

To get (informal): For example, ¿Entiendes lo que digo? (Do you get what I’m saying?)

To catch on (informal): For example, Al principio no entendía, pero luego lo pillé. (At first I didn’t catch on, but then I got it.)

Examples

Examples of Entender in the Imperfect Tense

Yo entendía lo que decía el profesor, pero mis compañeros no. (I understood what the teacher was saying, but my classmates did not.)

Ellos entendían las instrucciones, pero no las seguían. (They understood the instructions, but they did not follow them.)

¿Entendías lo que te estaba explicando? (Did you understand what I was explaining to you?)

Nosotros entendíamos el chiste, pero no nos reíamos para no ofender a nadie. (We understood the joke, but we didn’t laugh so as not to offend anyone.)

Ustedes entendían el concepto, ¿verdad? (You understood the concept, right?)

Ella entendía el sarcasmo, pero fingía no captarlo. (She understood the sarcasm, but she pretended not to get it.)

Vosotros entendíais la broma, ¿no? (You understood the joke, didn’t you?)

Él entendía las indirectas, pero las ignoraba. (He understood the hints, but he ignored them.)

¿Entendías lo que te estaba diciendo o necesitas que lo repita? (Did you understand what I was telling you or do you need me to repeat it?)

Nosotras entendíamos la importancia de estudiar, pero a veces nos distraíamos. (We understood the importance of studying, but sometimes we got distracted.)

Tú entendías el doble sentido de sus palabras, ¿verdad? (You understood the double meaning of their words, right?)

Ellas entendían las reglas del juego, pero las rompían a propósito. (They understood the rules of the game, but they broke them on purpose.)

Yo entendía lo que me estaba diciendo, pero no estaba de acuerdo. (I understood what he was telling me, but I didn’t agree.)

Ustedes entendían el chiste, ¿o se los tengo que explicar? (Did you understand the joke, or do I have to explain it to you?)

Vosotros entendíais las consecuencias de vuestras acciones, ¿no? (You understood the consequences of your actions, didn’t you?)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Entender (to understand) 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.