The Imperfect Tense of ganar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo ganaba mucho dinero en ese trabajo. (I used to earn a lot of money at that job.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Ganar (to win) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Earning or winning something over time: For example, Cuando era joven, ganaba poco dinero. (When I was young, I earned little money.)

Describing an action in progress: For example, Estaba ganando la carrera cuando me caí. (I was winning the race when I fell.)

Expressing a habitual action: For example, De pequeño, siempre ganaba en los videojuegos. (As a child, I always used to win at video games.)

Describing physical or emotional states: For example, Ganaba peso cada vez que estaba estresado. (I gained weight whenever I was stressed.)

Colloquial usage: ¡Estaba ganando un pastón! (I was earning a ton of money!)

Examples

Examples of Ganar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo ganaba mucho dinero en mi trabajo anterior. (I used to earn a lot of money at my previous job.)

Cuando éramos niños, ganábamos carreras de velocidad en el parque. (When we were kids, we used to win speed races in the park.)

Ellos ganaban la mayoría de los partidos de fútbol el año pasado. (They used to win most of the soccer games last year.)

Tú ganabas muchos premios en la escuela, ¿verdad? (You used to win a lot of awards at school, didn’t you?)

Vosotros ganabais mucho dinero con vuestro negocio familiar. (You all used to earn a lot of money with your family business.)

Ella ganaba más que su esposo en ese entonces. (She used to earn more than her husband back then.)

Nosotros ganábamos la lotería de vez en cuando. (We used to win the lottery from time to time.)

Ustedes ganaban muchos concursos de baile, ¿no? (You all used to win a lot of dance competitions, didn’t you?)

Él ganaba mucho respeto por su honestidad. (He used to earn a lot of respect for his honesty.)

Yo ganaba puntos extras por hacer tareas adicionales. (I used to earn extra points for doing additional assignments.)

Ellas ganaban premios por sus excelentes calificaciones. (They used to win awards for their excellent grades.)

Tú ganabas mucha experiencia trabajando en ese restaurante. (You used to gain a lot of experience working at that restaurant.)

Vosotros ganabais mucha confianza al practicar deportes. (You all used to gain a lot of confidence by practicing sports.)

Nosotros ganábamos dinero extra haciendo trabajos temporales. (We used to earn extra money by doing temporary jobs.)

Ellos ganaban fama por sus actuaciones en el teatro local. (They used to gain fame for their performances at the local theater.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Ganar (to win) 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.