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Conjugation Chart

“Llorar” (to cry) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Llorar”

The Imperfect Tense of Llorar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Cuando era niño, lloraba mucho. (When I was a child, I used to cry a lot.)

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

How to Use Llorar in the Imperfect Tense

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

Expressing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, lloraba mucho. (When I was a child, I used to cry a lot.)

Describing repeated or habitual actions in the past: For example, Cada vez que veía una película triste, lloraba. (Every time I watched a sad movie, I would cry.)

Expressing emotions or states of being in the past: For example, Lloraba de felicidad en su graduación. (She was crying tears of joy at her graduation.)

Idiomatic expressions: For example, Llorar como una Magdalena (to cry one’s eyes out), Llorar a moco tendido (to cry uncontrollably).

Slang or colloquial usage: For example, Estaba llorando la carreteada (I was crying over the hangover), No llores, viejo (Don’t cry, dude).

Real Life Examples of Llorar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, lloraba cada vez que veía una película triste. (When I was a child, I would cry every time I saw a sad movie.)

Mi hermana lloraba de felicidad en su graduación. (My sister cried tears of joy at her graduation.)

El bebé lloraba sin parar, así que lo cargué para calmarlo. (The baby wouldn’t stop crying, so I picked them up to calm them down.)

Después de la pelea, llorábamos de la risa recordando lo tonto que fue el malentendido. (After the fight, we cried with laughter remembering how silly the misunderstanding was.)

Aunque lloraba por dentro, mantuvo la compostura en el funeral. (Although they were crying inside, they kept their composure at the funeral.)

El equipo lloraba de decepción después de perder el campeonato. (The team cried in disappointment after losing the championship.)

Cada vez que lloraba, mi abuela me abrazaba y me decía: “No pasa nada, todo va a estar bien”. (Whenever I cried, my grandmother would hug me and say, “It’s okay, everything will be alright”.)

La actriz lloraba de la emoción al recibir su premio Oscar. (The actress cried with emotion when receiving her Oscar award.)

El niño lloraba desconsoladamente porque se le cayó su helado. (The child cried inconsolably because they dropped their ice cream.)

Aunque llorábamos de tristeza, nos apoyábamos mutuamente después de la pérdida. (Although we cried in sadness, we supported each other after the loss.)

La novia lloraba lágrimas de alegría mientras caminaba hacia el altar. (The bride cried tears of joy as she walked down the aisle.)

Cuando era pequeño, lloraba cada vez que mis padres discutían. (When I was little, I would cry whenever my parents argued.)

El perro lloraba y gemía cuando su dueño se iba a trabajar. (The dog would whine and cry when its owner left for work.)

La madre lloraba de orgullo al ver a su hijo graduarse de la universidad. (The mother cried with pride watching her son graduate from university.)

Aunque llorábamos de la risa, tuvimos que disculparnos por las bromas pesadas. (Although we cried with laughter, we had to apologize for the mean jokes.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Llorar (to cry) in the Imperfect 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.