The Imperfect Tense of hablar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo hablaba español cuando era niño. (I used to speak Spanish when I was a child.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Hablar (to speak) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Ongoing action in the past: For example, Hablaba con mi amigo por teléfono cuando llegó mi madre. (I was talking to my friend on the phone when my mother arrived.)

Repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, De niño, hablaba mucho en clase. (As a child, I used to talk a lot in class.)

Description in the past: For example, La casa hablaba de la riqueza de sus antiguos dueños. (The house spoke of the wealth of its former owners.)

State of being in the past: For example, Hablaba tres idiomas cuando era joven. (I spoke three languages when I was young.)

Colloquial usage: ¡Hablabas mucho! can be used to tell someone they talked excessively, often with a humorous or mildly scolding tone. ¡Habla, habla! can be used to urge someone to speak up or explain themselves.

Examples

Examples of Hablar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo hablaba con mis amigos por teléfono todas las noches. (I used to talk to my friends on the phone every night.)

Cuando era niño, hablaba con mis abuelos sobre sus vidas. (When I was a child, I used to talk to my grandparents about their lives.)

Ellos hablaban en voz baja para no molestar a los demás. (They used to speak in a low voice so as not to bother others.)

Tú hablabas muy rápido y no te entendía. (You used to speak very quickly and I didn’t understand you.)

Vosotros hablabais tanto que me daba dolor de cabeza. (You all used to talk so much that it gave me a headache.)

Ustedes hablaban de política sin parar. (You all used to talk about politics non-stop.)

Ella hablaba con tanta pasión que me emocionaba. (She used to speak with so much passion that it moved me.)

En la oficina, hablábamos de los proyectos futuros. (At the office, we used to talk about future projects.)

Mis padres hablaban de mudarse a otro país. (My parents used to talk about moving to another country.)

¿Hablabas en serio cuando dijiste eso? (Were you serious when you said that?)

Siempre hablaba de más cuando estaba nervioso. (I always used to talk too much when I was nervous.)

En la reunión, hablábamos sobre las nuevas estrategias de marketing. (In the meeting, we used to talk about the new marketing strategies.)

Mis amigos y yo hablábamos de nuestros sueños y metas. (My friends and I used to talk about our dreams and goals.)

Cuando viajaba, hablaba con la gente local para practicar el idioma. (When I traveled, I used to talk to the locals to practice the language.)

En la fiesta, todos hablaban y reían a carcajadas. (At the party, everyone used to talk and laugh out loud.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Hablar (to speak) 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.