The Imperfect Tense of matar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo mataba las cucarachas en mi antigua casa. (I used to kill the cockroaches in my old house.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Matar (to kill) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

To kill (literally): For example, Cuando era niño, mataba insectos por diversión. (When I was a child, I used to kill insects for fun.)

To exhaust or tire out: For example, El trabajo me mataba todos los días. (Work used to exhaust me every day.)

To bother or annoy (colloquial): For example, Mi hermana me mataba con sus bromas pesadas. (My sister used to annoy me with her lame jokes.)

To turn off or deactivate (colloquial): For example, Siempre mataba el celular para no ser molestado. (I always used to turn off my phone to avoid being bothered.)

To drink excessively (slang): For example, En la universidad, matábamos cada fin de semana. (In college, we used to get wasted every weekend.)

Examples

Examples of Matar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo mataba el tiempo jugando videojuegos mientras esperaba a mis amigos. (I was killing time playing video games while waiting for my friends.)

Ella mataba dos pájaros de un tiro al hacer ejercicio y disfrutar del aire libre. (She was killing two birds with one stone by exercising and enjoying the outdoors.)

Nosotros matábamos las horas extras trabajando en nuestro proyecto. (We were putting in overtime working on our project.)

Tú matabas el aburrimiento leyendo novelas de misterio. (You were fighting boredom by reading mystery novels.)

Ellos mataban el estrés con meditación y yoga. (They were relieving stress through meditation and yoga.)

Mi mamá mataba las plantas con amor, regándolas demasiado. (My mom was killing the plants with love by overwatering them.)

Juan mataba el tiempo libre haciendo manualidades. (Juan was spending his free time doing crafts.)

Las chicas mataban el aburrimiento chismeando sobre los vecinos. (The girls were killing boredom by gossiping about the neighbors.)

Yo mataba dos pájaros de un tiro al estudiar y escuchar música al mismo tiempo. (I was killing two birds with one stone by studying and listening to music at the same time.)

Tú matabas las horas extras trabajando en tu pasatiempo favorito. (You were putting in overtime working on your favorite hobby.)

Ellos mataban el estrés saliendo a caminar por las noches. (They were relieving stress by going for walks at night.)

Nosotros matábamos el tiempo libre jugando videojuegos en línea. (We were killing free time playing online video games.)

Ella mataba el aburrimiento leyendo revistas de chismes. (She was fighting boredom by reading gossip magazines.)

Yo mataba las horas extras trabajando en mi proyecto personal. (I was putting in overtime working on my personal project.)

Tú matabas el estrés escuchando música relajante. (You were relieving stress by listening to relaxing music.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Matar (to kill) 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.