Esconder Imperfect Tense in Latin American Spanish

The Imperfect Tense of Esconder is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo escondía las llaves debajo del tapete. (I used to hide the keys under the mat.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Esconder (to hide) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

Pronoun Conjugation
Yoescondía
escondías
Él / Ella / Ustedescondía
Nosotros / Nosotrasescondíamos
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedesescondían

Boost Your Memorization with Audio!

We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Esconder (to hide) in the Imperfect Tense to help you learn faster.

Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.

Usage of Esconder in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of esconder is used to describe ongoing, repeated or habitual actions in the past.

To hide something: Por ejemplo, cuando era niño, escondía mis juguetes debajo de la cama. (When I was a child, I used to hide my toys under the bed.)

To conceal or keep something secret: Por ejemplo, mi hermano escondía su colección de revistas debajo del colchón. (My brother used to hide his magazine collection under the mattress.)

To disguise or mask something (figurative): Por ejemplo, la actriz escondía su tristeza detrás de una sonrisa falsa. (The actress hid her sadness behind a fake smile.)

To take shelter or refuge (colloquial): Por ejemplo, cuando llovía, nos escondíamos debajo del puente. (When it rained, we used to take shelter under the bridge.)

Examples

Examples of Esconder in the Imperfect Tense

Yo escondía mis dulces de mis hermanos para que no se los comieran. (I used to hide my candies from my siblings so they wouldn’t eat them.)

Cuando éramos niños, escondíamos la pelota para que nuestros amigos no la encontraran. (When we were kids, we used to hide the ball so our friends couldn’t find it.)

Mi abuela escondía las llaves del auto para que mi abuelo no manejara. (My grandma used to hide the car keys so my grandpa wouldn’t drive.)

En la oficina, escondíamos los expedientes importantes para que nadie los viera. (At the office, we used to hide the important files so no one would see them.)

Ella escondía sus sentimientos para no preocupar a sus padres. (She used to hide her feelings so as not to worry her parents.)

Durante la guerra, la gente escondía a los refugiados en sus casas. (During the war, people used to hide refugees in their homes.)

Cuando era joven, escondía mis revistas debajo de la cama para que mis padres no las vieran. (When I was young, I used to hide my magazines under the bed so my parents wouldn’t see them.)

En la escuela, escondíamos los apuntes en nuestros pupitre para copiar en los exámenes. (At school, we used to hide notes in our desks to copy during exams.)

Mi tío escondía sus cigarrillos de mi tía porque ella no quería que fumara. (My uncle used to hide his cigarettes from my aunt because she didn’t want him to smoke.)

Cuando escondíamos los regalos de Navidad, los niños siempre trataban de encontrarlos. (When we used to hide the Christmas gifts, the kids would always try to find them.)

En el parque, los niños escondían las cosas de sus amigos para jugar a las escondidas. (At the park, kids used to hide their friends’ things to play hide and seek.)

Mis padres escondían el dinero en lugares extraños para que no lo robaran. (My parents used to hide money in strange places so it wouldn’t get stolen.)

Cuando escondíamos la comida, los perros siempre la encontraban. (When we used to hide food, the dogs would always find it.)

En la fiesta, escondíamos las botellas de los adultos para que los niños no las tomaran. (At the party, we used to hide the adults’ bottles so the kids wouldn’t drink them.)

Ella escondía sus lágrimas para que nadie la viera triste. (She used to hide her tears so no one would see her sad.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Esconder (to hide) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

Spanish English
Yo escondía I was hiding
Tú escondías You were hiding
Él / Ella / Usted escondía He / She / You was hiding
Nosotros / Nosotras escondíamos We were hiding
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes escondían They / You all were hiding

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.