The Imperfect Tense of pintar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo pintaba la pared cuando llegaste. (I was painting the wall when you arrived.)

Pintar is a regular -ar verb, so its Imperfect conjugations follow the typical pattern for that verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Pintar (to paint) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Yo pintaba un cuadro cuando sonó el timbre. (I was painting a picture when the doorbell rang.)

Describing repeated or habitual actions in the past: For example, De niño, pintaba mucho en las paredes. (As a child, I used to paint a lot on the walls.)

Describing physical or emotional states in the past: For example, Pintaba con mucha pasión en aquella época. (I painted with great passion during that time.)

Describing background information or setting the scene: For example, Era una tarde soleada y pintaba en el jardín. (It was a sunny afternoon, and I was painting in the garden.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: For example, ¡Qué bien pintaba ese tío! (That guy was really good-looking!)

Examples

Examples of Pintar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, pintaba cuadros con mi abuelo. (When I was a child, I used to paint pictures with my grandfather.)

Ella pintaba las paredes de un color suave para relajarse. (She would paint the walls a soft color to relax.)

Los artistas callejeros pintaban graffitis en los muros de la ciudad. (The street artists would paint graffiti on the city walls.)

Tú pintabas muy bien cuando eras joven. (You used to paint very well when you were young.)

Nosotros pintábamos las casas de nuestros vecinos para ganar algo de dinero. (We would paint our neighbors’ houses to earn some money.)

Ellos pintaban paisajes impresionistas en sus lienzos. (They would paint impressionist landscapes on their canvases.)

¿Pintabas tus propios diseños en la ropa? (Did you use to paint your own designs on clothes?)

Mis amigos y yo pintábamos murales en el parque cuando éramos adolescentes. (My friends and I would paint murals in the park when we were teenagers.)

La artista pintaba retratos de personas famosas. (The artist would paint portraits of famous people.)

Ustedes pintaban las cercas del jardín cada primavera. (You all used to paint the garden fences every spring.)

Yo pintaba con acuarelas en mi tiempo libre. (I would paint with watercolors in my free time.)

Ellas pintaban las paredes de colores brillantes para alegrar la habitación. (They would paint the walls bright colors to brighten up the room.)

¿Pintabas cuadros abstractos o realistas? (Did you use to paint abstract or realistic paintings?)

Vosotros pintabais las puertas de un tono diferente cada año. (You all would paint the doors a different shade every year.)

Él pintaba murales en los edificios abandonados de la ciudad. (He would paint murals on abandoned buildings in the city.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Pintar (to paint) 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.