The Imperfect Tense of Llegar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Llegaba a casa a las 6 p.m. todos los días. (I used to arrive home at 6 p.m. every day.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Llegar (to arrive) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Arriving or getting somewhere: For example, Cuando llegaba a casa, mi madre ya había preparado la cena. (When I arrived home, my mother had already prepared dinner.)

Reaching a certain time or age: For example, Cuando llegaba a los veinte años, ya era independiente. (When I reached twenty years old, I was already independent.)

Becoming or turning into something: For example, La situación llegaba a ser insostenible. (The situation was becoming unbearable.)

Colloquial usage: ¡Llegaba tarde como siempre! (I was late as usual!) or Llegaba a ser un pesado con sus bromas. (He was becoming a pain with his jokes.)

Examples

Examples of Llegar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando llegaba al trabajo, siempre saludaba a mis compañeros. (When I arrived at work, I always greeted my colleagues.)

Mi hermano llegaba tarde a todas las reuniones familiares. (My brother was always late to family gatherings.)

Antes de que llegaran los invitados, preparamos la casa. (Before the guests arrived, we prepared the house.)

Cada vez que llegábamos al parque, los niños corrían a los columpios. (Every time we arrived at the park, the kids ran to the swings.)

Aunque llegaba temprano, mi jefe ya estaba en la oficina. (Even though I arrived early, my boss was already at the office.)

Cuando llegaban las vacaciones, planeábamos un viaje en familia. (When the holidays arrived, we planned a family trip.)

Mis amigos llegaban tarde a la fiesta, como siempre. (My friends arrived late to the party, as usual.)

El tren llegaba con retraso casi todos los días. (The train was late almost every day.)

Cada vez que llegaba a casa después del trabajo, me quitaba los zapatos y me relajaba. (Every time I arrived home after work, I took off my shoes and relaxed.)

Cuando llegábamos al restaurante, siempre pedíamos la misma cosa. (When we arrived at the restaurant, we always ordered the same thing.)

Mis padres llegaban a visitarme cada fin de semana. (My parents came to visit me every weekend.)

El equipo llegaba motivado a cada partido. (The team arrived motivated for every game.)

Aunque llegábamos temprano al cine, las salas ya estaban llenas. (Even though we arrived early at the movie theater, the halls were already full.)

Cuando llegaba el verano, toda la familia se iba de vacaciones. (When summer arrived, the whole family went on vacation.)

Mis abuelos llegaban puntuales a todas las citas. (My grandparents arrived on time for all appointments.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Llegar (to arrive) 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.