The Imperfect Tense of parar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo paraba el coche en el semáforo. (I used to stop the car at the red light.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Parar (to stop) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Yo paraba el coche en el semáforo. (I was stopping the car at the traffic light.)

Describing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, Cada mañana, paraba en la cafetería. (Every morning, I used to stop at the cafe.)

Describing a state or condition in the past: For example, La lluvia paraba de vez en cuando. (The rain would stop from time to time.)

Expressing an action interrupted by another action in the past: For example, Paraba de estudiar cuando sonaba el teléfono. (I would stop studying when the phone rang.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: ¡Para ya! (Stop it already!) is a common expression used to tell someone to stop doing something annoying or inappropriate.

Examples

Examples of Parar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo paraba en cada ciudad durante mi viaje por carretera. (I used to stop in every city during my road trip.)

Cuando era niño, paraba de jugar al atardecer. (When I was a child, I would stop playing at dusk.)

Ella paraba de trabajar a las seis de la tarde. (She would stop working at six in the evening.)

Nosotros parábamos de estudiar para tomar un descanso. (We would stop studying to take a break.)

Tú parabas de hablar cuando entraba el profesor. (You would stop talking when the teacher came in.)

Ellos paraban de correr cuando se cansaban. (They would stop running when they got tired.)

¿Parabas de fumar cuando estabas enfermo? (Would you stop smoking when you were sick?)

Ustedes paraban de reír cuando su madre los regañaba. (You would stop laughing when your mother scolded you.)

Vosotros parabais de jugar videojuegos cuando se acababa la batería. (You would stop playing video games when the battery ran out.)

Ella paraba de comer cuando se sentía llena. (She would stop eating when she felt full.)

¿Parabas de estudiar cuando te distraías? (Would you stop studying when you got distracted?)

Nosotros parábamos de caminar cuando llovía. (We would stop walking when it rained.)

Tú parabas de trabajar cuando sonaba la alarma de incendio. (You would stop working when the fire alarm went off.)

Ellos paraban de hablar cuando alguien importante entraba a la sala. (They would stop talking when someone important entered the room.)

Vosotros parabais de cantar cuando os quedabais sin aliento. (You would stop singing when you ran out of breath.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Parar (to stop) 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.