The Imperfect Tense of mirar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Miraba la televisión todos los días. (I used to watch television every day.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Mirar (to look at) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Miraba la televisión cuando sonó el timbre. (I was watching TV when the doorbell rang.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, De niño, miraba mucho la tele. (As a child, I used to watch a lot of TV.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, El cielo miraba gris y nublado. (The sky looked gray and cloudy.)

Expressing an action interrupted in the past: For example, Miraba la película cuando se fue la luz. (I was watching the movie when the power went out.)

Expressing an action in progress at a specific time in the past: For example, A las ocho, miraba las noticias. (At eight o’clock, I was watching the news.)

Expressing an action that was happening simultaneously with another past action: For example, Mientras miraba la tele, mi hermana cocinaba. (While I was watching TV, my sister was cooking.)

Expressing a polite request or command: For example, Miraba por dónde iba. (Watch where you’re going.)

Expressing an action that was a habit or routine in the past: For example, Cada noche, miraba una película antes de dormir. (Every night, I used to watch a movie before going to bed.)

Expressing an action that was happening over an extended period in the past: For example, Miraba la serie entera durante las vacaciones. (I was watching the entire series during the holidays.)

Examples

Examples of Mirar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo miraba la televisión mientras cenaba. (I was watching TV while eating dinner.)

Ellos miraban por la ventana esperando ver las estrellas. (They were looking out the window hoping to see the stars.)

Tú mirabas fijamente al orador durante la conferencia. (You were staring intently at the speaker during the conference.)

Nosotros mirábamos las fotos de nuestras vacaciones con nostalgia. (We were looking at our vacation photos nostalgically.)

Vosotros mirabais la película de terror con los ojos entrecerrados. (You were watching the horror movie with squinted eyes.)

Ella miraba su reloj constantemente, preocupada por llegar tarde. (She was constantly looking at her watch, worried about being late.)

Ustedes miraban el partido de fútbol con emoción. (You were watching the soccer game excitedly.)

Yo miraba de reojo a mi crush en la clase. (I was glancing at my crush in class.)

Ellos miraban con envidia los coches deportivos que pasaban. (They were looking enviously at the sports cars passing by.)

Tú mirabas con desconfianza al vendedor ambulante. (You were looking at the street vendor with distrust.)

Vosotros mirabais con admiración las obras de arte en el museo. (You were looking at the artworks in the museum with admiration.)

Nosotros mirábamos con preocupación las noticias sobre el huracán. (We were watching the news about the hurricane with concern.)

Ella miraba con desdén a los turistas ruidosos. (She was looking disdainfully at the noisy tourists.)

Ustedes miraban con curiosidad el espectáculo callejero. (You were watching the street performance curiously.)

Yo miraba con anhelo el escaparate de la pastelería. (I was looking longingly at the bakery’s window display.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Mirar (to look at) 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.