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Conjugation Chart

“Escribir” (to write) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Escribir”

The Imperfect Tense of Escribir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo escribía una carta a mi abuela cada semana. (I used to write a letter to my grandmother every week.)

Escribir is a regular -ir verb, so its Imperfect Tense conjugations follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

How to Use Escribir in the Imperfect Tense

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

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Yo escribía una carta a mi abuela. (I was writing a letter to my grandmother.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, De niño, escribía cuentos cortos. (As a child, I used to write short stories.)

Describing a past action without a specific beginning or end: For example, Escribía poemas en mi tiempo libre. (I would write poems in my free time.)

Describing a past action that was interrupted or unfinished: For example, Escribía un ensayo cuando me quedé sin tinta. (I was writing an essay when I ran out of ink.)

Describing a past action that was a habit or routine: For example, Cada mañana, escribía en mi diario. (Every morning, I would write in my journal.)

Describing a past action that was a state or condition: For example, Escribía con mucha pasión en esa época. (I used to write with a lot of passion during that time.)

Colloquial/Slang usage: For example, ¡Escribía como los dioses! (He wrote like a god! – expressing admiration for someone’s writing skills.)

Real Life Examples of Escribir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo escribía cartas a mi abuela todos los fines de semana. (I used to write letters to my grandmother every weekend.)

Cuando era niño, escribía historias de aventuras en mi cuaderno. (When I was a child, I used to write adventure stories in my notebook.)

Mi hermana escribía poemas de amor para su novio. (My sister used to write love poems for her boyfriend.)

En la universidad, escribíamos ensayos interminables sobre literatura. (In college, we used to write endless essays about literature.)

Antes de tener un smartphone, escribía notas en una pequeña libreta. (Before having a smartphone, I used to write notes in a small notebook.)

Mis amigos y yo escribíamos canciones juntos en la preparatoria. (My friends and I used to write songs together in high school.)

Ella escribía un diario íntimo donde expresaba sus sentimientos. (She used to write an intimate diary where she expressed her feelings.)

Durante las vacaciones, escribíamos postales a nuestros familiares. (During vacations, we used to write postcards to our relatives.)

Antes de tener una computadora, escribía mis trabajos a mano. (Before having a computer, I used to write my assignments by hand.)

En la oficina, escribíamos informes detallados sobre nuestros proyectos. (At the office, we used to write detailed reports about our projects.)

Cuando era joven, escribía en un blog sobre mis viajes. (When I was young, I used to write on a blog about my travels.)

Mi abuelo escribía cuentos para entretener a sus nietos. (My grandfather used to write stories to entertain his grandchildren.)

En la escuela, escribíamos redacciones sobre temas variados. (At school, we used to write essays on various topics.)

Antes de enviar un correo electrónico, escribía un borrador primero. (Before sending an email, I used to write a draft first.)

Mis padres escribían recetas de cocina en un cuaderno familiar. (My parents used to write cooking recipes in a family notebook.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Escribir (to write) in the Imperfect 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.