The Imperfect Tense of merecer is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, Merecías un premio por tu esfuerzo. (You deserved a prize for your effort.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Merecer (to deserve) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of merecer is used to describe actions or states that were ongoing or repeated in the past.

To deserve something: For example, Merecía un premio por su esfuerzo. (She deserved a prize for her effort.)

To be worthy of something: For example, No merecía tanta atención. (He didn’t deserve so much attention.)

To be appropriate or fitting: For example, Merecía la pena intentarlo. (It was worth trying.)

Colloquially, to be deserving of punishment or criticism: For example, Merecía una buena regañina por llegar tarde. (He deserved a good scolding for being late.)

Examples

Examples of Merecer in the Imperfect Tense

Yo merecía un descanso después de trabajar tanto. (I deserved a break after working so hard.)

Ellos merecían ganar el premio por su esfuerzo. (They deserved to win the prize for their effort.)

Tú merecías una mejor oportunidad en la vida. (You deserved a better opportunity in life.)

Nosotros merecíamos un aumento de sueldo por nuestro arduo trabajo. (We deserved a raise for our hard work.)

Ella merecía ser tratada con más respeto. (She deserved to be treated with more respect.)

Ustedes merecían una explicación más detallada. (You all deserved a more detailed explanation.)

Vosotros merecíais un reconocimiento por vuestro logro. (You all deserved recognition for your achievement.)

Él merecía la pena, aunque a veces era difícil. (He was worth it, even though it was sometimes difficult.)

¿Acaso no merecía yo una segunda oportunidad? (Didn’t I deserve a second chance?)

La verdad es que nadie merecía ser tratado así. (The truth is that no one deserved to be treated like that.)

Ese equipo merecía ganar el campeonato, la neta. (That team deserved to win the championship, for real.)

Esa película merecía todas las críticas positivas que recibió. (That movie deserved all the positive reviews it received.)

Aunque era un poco grosero, merecía una oportunidad. (Even though he was a bit rude, he deserved a chance.)

La comida merecía un diez, estaba riquísima. (The food deserved a ten, it was delicious.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Merecer (to deserve) 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.