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 conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Entender (to understand) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American 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 or comprehend: For example, Yo no entendía las instrucciones del profesor. (I didn’t understand the teacher’s instructions.)

To perceive or grasp: For example, Ella entendía que su amigo estaba enojado. (She understood that her friend was angry.)

To interpret or make sense of: For example, No entendíamos las señales de tráfico. (We didn’t understand the traffic signs.)

To get along with (colloquial): For example, Mis padres no se entendían muy bien. (My parents didn’t get along very well.)

To have a romantic/sexual relationship (slang, rude): For example, Ellos se entendían en la cama. (They had an intimate relationship.)

Examples

Examples of Entender in the Imperfect Tense

Yo entendía lo que el profesor explicaba en clase. (I understood what the teacher was explaining in class.)

Ellos entendían las instrucciones, pero no las seguían. (They understood the instructions, but they didn’t follow them.)

Nosotros entendíamos el chiste, aunque no era muy gracioso. (We understood the joke, even though it wasn’t very funny.)

Tú entendías el concepto, pero no sabías cómo aplicarlo. (You understood the concept, but you didn’t know how to apply it.)

Ella entendía que su amigo estaba pasando por un momento difícil. (She understood that her friend was going through a difficult time.)

¿Entendías lo que te estaba diciendo? Parecía que no me prestabas atención. (Did you understand what I was telling you? It seemed like you weren’t paying attention to me.)

Mis padres entendían que yo quería independizarme, pero les costaba aceptarlo. (My parents understood that I wanted to become independent, but it was hard for them to accept it.)

En la reunión, entendíamos que había que tomar una decisión importante. (In the meeting, we understood that we had to make an important decision.)

Aunque era un concepto complicado, el profesor lo explicó tan bien que entendíamos todo. (Even though it was a complicated concept, the teacher explained it so well that we understood everything.)

Mi jefe entendía que yo necesitaba tiempo libre para atender asuntos personales. (My boss understood that I needed time off to attend to personal matters.)

Los niños entendían que no debían cruzar la calle solos. (The children understood that they shouldn’t cross the street alone.)

Cuando entendías el chiste, te reías a carcajadas. (When you understood the joke, you would laugh out loud.)

Aunque no hablaba el idioma, entendía lo que querían decir por su lenguaje corporal. (Even though I didn’t speak the language, I understood what they meant by their body language.)

En la clase de cocina, entendíamos las recetas, pero a veces nos costaba ejecutarlas. (In the cooking class, we understood the recipes, but sometimes it was hard for us to execute them.)

Mis amigos entendían que yo estaba ocupado con el trabajo y no podía salir tanto como antes. (My friends understood that I was busy with work and couldn’t go out as much as before.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Entender (to understand) 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.