The Imperfect Tense of leer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo leía el periódico todas las mañanas. (I used to read the newspaper every morning.)

Leer is a regular -er verb, so its Imperfect conjugations follow the regular pattern by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the Imperfect endings.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Leer (to read) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

Reading habitually or regularly: For example, Cuando era niño, leía cuentos todas las noches antes de dormir. (When I was a child, I used to read stories every night before bed.)

Describing an action in progress: For example, Estaba leyendo el periódico cuando sonó el timbre. (I was reading the newspaper when the doorbell rang.)

Setting the scene: For example, Hacía calor y leía bajo la sombra de un árbol. (It was hot, and I was reading under the shade of a tree.)

Expressing age: For example, Cuando leía ese libro, tenía diez años. (When I read that book, I was ten years old.)

Colloquial usage (rude): For example, ¿Qué leías, pendejo? (What were you reading, dumbass?)

Examples

Examples of Leer in the Imperfect Tense

Yo leía el periódico todas las mañanas mientras tomaba mi café. (I used to read the newspaper every morning while drinking my coffee.)

Cuando era niño, mi abuela leía cuentos para mí antes de dormir. (When I was a child, my grandmother would read stories to me before bedtime.)

Ella leía las noticias en línea durante su descanso del trabajo. (She would read the news online during her work break.)

Él leía el menú con cuidado, tratando de decidir qué pedir. (He would read the menu carefully, trying to decide what to order.)

Cada vez que leía ese libro, descubría algo nuevo. (Every time I would read that book, I would discover something new.)

Mis padres leían el periódico local para mantenerse informados sobre los eventos de la comunidad. (My parents would read the local newspaper to stay informed about community events.)

Aunque leía lentamente, disfrutaba de cada palabra del libro. (Even though I would read slowly, I enjoyed every word of the book.)

En las noches, leía un capítulo de mi novela favorita antes de dormir. (At night, I would read a chapter of my favorite novel before going to bed.)

Cuando leía las letras de las canciones, podía entender mejor el mensaje del artista. (When I would read the lyrics of songs, I could better understand the artist’s message.)

Aunque no leía con frecuencia, disfrutaba de un buen libro de vez en cuando. (Even though I wouldn’t read often, I enjoyed a good book every now and then.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Leer (to read) 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.