The Imperfect Tense of Preguntar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Yo preguntaba por las direcciones a cada persona que pasaba. (I was asking for directions from every person who passed by.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Preguntar (to ask) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

Asking questions: For example, Cuando era niño, siempre le preguntaba a mi mamá por qué el cielo era azul. (When I was a child, I always used to ask my mom why the sky was blue.)

Inquiring or requesting information: For example, Cada vez que llegaba tarde, el profesor me preguntaba la razón. (Whenever I arrived late, the teacher would ask me the reason.)

Expressing uncertainty or doubt (colloquial): For example, No sé si debo creerle, ¿me preguntaba yo? (I didn’t know if I should believe him, I wondered?)

Questioning someone’s actions or motives (rude): For example, ¿Me preguntabas por qué llegué tarde? ¡Métete en tus propios asuntos! (Were you asking why I arrived late? Mind your own business!)

Examples

Examples of Preguntar in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, preguntaba a mis padres sobre todo lo que veía. (When I was a child, I used to ask my parents about everything I saw.)

En la reunión, María preguntaba constantemente por los detalles del proyecto. (In the meeting, Maria kept asking about the details of the project.)

El mesero preguntaba si queríamos ordenar algo más. (The waiter kept asking if we wanted to order anything else.)

Mi amigo preguntaba por el camino cada vez que salíamos. (My friend used to ask for directions every time we went out.)

La maestra preguntaba si alguien tenía dudas sobre la lección. (The teacher kept asking if anyone had any questions about the lesson.)

Cuando preguntaba por el precio, el vendedor siempre trataba de negociar. (When I asked about the price, the vendor always tried to negotiate.)

En la entrevista de trabajo, preguntaban sobre mis habilidades y experiencia. (In the job interview, they kept asking about my skills and experience.)

Mi hermana preguntaba a cada rato si ya íbamos a llegar. (My sister kept asking every so often if we were going to arrive soon.)

El policía preguntaba por nuestros documentos de identidad. (The police officer kept asking for our identification documents.)

Cuando preguntaba por el menú, el camarero me explicaba las opciones. (When I asked about the menu, the waiter explained the options to me.)

En la fiesta, todos preguntaban por el DJ y cuándo iba a comenzar la música. (At the party, everyone kept asking about the DJ and when the music was going to start.)

Mi mamá preguntaba si ya había hecho la tarea antes de salir a jugar. (My mom used to ask if I had done my homework before going out to play.)

El guía turístico preguntaba si teníamos alguna duda sobre los lugares que visitábamos. (The tour guide kept asking if we had any questions about the places we were visiting.)

Cuando preguntaba por el precio de los boletos, me decían que estaban agotados. (When I asked about the price of the tickets, they told me they were sold out.)

En la reunión familiar, mi tío preguntaba por las novedades de todos. (At the family gathering, my uncle kept asking about everyone’s news.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Preguntar (to ask) 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.