The Imperfect Tense of hervir is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, for example, El agua hervía en la olla. (The water was boiling in the pot.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Hervir (to boil) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of hervir is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past.

Boiling water: For example, El agua hervía en la olla. (The water was boiling in the pot.)

Figurative: Being very angry: For example, Estaba hirviendo de rabia. (He/She was boiling with rage.)

Slang: Being very excited: For example, Estaba hirviendo por ir a la fiesta. (He/She was super excited to go to the party.)

Examples

Examples of Hervir in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando hervía el agua para el té, el silbato de la tetera me avisaba. (When the water for the tea was boiling, the whistle of the kettle would let me know.)

El chef hervía los camarones para que se cocinaran rápidamente. (The chef was boiling the shrimp so they would cook quickly.)

Mamá hervía las verduras para la sopa de pollo. (Mom was boiling the vegetables for the chicken soup.)

La olla hervía a fuego lento mientras preparaba los ingredientes. (The pot was simmering over low heat while I prepared the ingredients.)

El agua hervía con tanta fuerza que salpicaba por todos lados. (The water was boiling so vigorously that it was splashing everywhere.)

Tú hervías los frijoles para el plato típico. (You were boiling the beans for the traditional dish.)

Nosotros hervíamos el maíz para hacer las arepas. (We were boiling the corn to make arepas.)

Ellos hervían el arroz para el almuerzo. (They were boiling the rice for lunch.)

En la cocina, hervía una olla con agua hirviendo. (In the kitchen, a pot with boiling water was boiling.)

La abuela hervía las hierbas para preparar su remedio casero. (Grandma was boiling the herbs to make her home remedy.)

El entrenador hervía las toallas para desinfectarlas después del entrenamiento. (The coach was boiling the towels to disinfect them after practice.)

Yo hervía los huevos para el desayuno todas las mañanas. (I was boiling the eggs for breakfast every morning.)

En la fábrica, las máquinas hervían el jugo de frutas para envasarlo. (At the factory, the machines were boiling the fruit juice to bottle it.)

Ellas hervían la leche para hacer el yogur casero. (They were boiling the milk to make homemade yogurt.)

El agua hervía a borbotones en la olla de metal. (The water was boiling vigorously in the metal pot.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Hervir (to boil) 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.