The Imperfect Tense of Quemarse is used to describe actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past, for example, Me quemaba las manos al cocinar. (I used to burn my hands while cooking.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Quemarse (to burn oneself) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

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

Burning or being on fire: For example, La casa se quemaba lentamente (The house was burning slowly). This can also be used figuratively, like Me quemaba de la vergüenza (I was burning with embarrassment).

Getting sunburned: For example, Me quemaba al sol en la playa (I was getting sunburned at the beach).

Overheating or burning out (electrical): For example, La computadora se quemaba por el uso excesivo (The computer was overheating from excessive use).

Burning food or overcooking: For example, Se me quemaba la comida en la sartén (The food was burning in the pan).

Slang: Getting screwed over or ripped off: For example, Me quemaba el vendedor con los precios altos (The vendor was ripping me off with high prices).

Examples

Examples of Quemarse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, me quemaba con el sol muy fácilmente. (When I was a child, I used to burn easily in the sun.)

El chef se quemaba las manos con frecuencia al sacar las bandejas del horno. (The chef often burned his hands when taking trays out of the oven.)

La plancha se quemaba si la dejábamos encendida por mucho tiempo. (The iron would burn if we left it on for too long.)

Antes de que instalaran aire acondicionado, nos quemábamos de calor en la oficina durante el verano. (Before they installed air conditioning, we used to burn from the heat in the office during summer.)

Cuando se quemaba la comida, mi abuela decía que tenía un sabor “ahumado”. (When the food burned, my grandma would say it had a “smoked” flavor.)

La lámpara se quemaba muy rápido porque era de mala calidad. (The lamp bulb would burn out quickly because it was low quality.)

En esa época, me quemaba mucho estudiando para los exámenes. (Back then, I used to burn myself out studying for exams.)

Cuando se quemaban las tortillas, mi mamá las usaba para hacer tostadas. (When the tortillas burned, my mom would use them to make tostadas.)

El equipo se quemaba por ganar el campeonato después de tantos años sin éxito. (The team was burning to win the championship after so many years without success.)

Antes de que existieran los discos compactos, nos quemábamos cintas de audio para grabar música. (Before CDs existed, we used to burn audio tapes to record music.)

Cuando se quemaba la cena, pedíamos una pizza para no tener que cocinar. (When dinner burned, we would order a pizza so we didn’t have to cook.)

La vieja computadora se quemaba si la usábamos por mucho tiempo. (The old computer would burn out if we used it for too long.)

En el desierto, nos quemábamos los pies si caminábamos descalzos. (In the desert, we would burn our feet if we walked barefoot.)

Cuando se quemaba un fusible, toda la casa se quedaba a oscuras. (When a fuse burned out, the whole house would go dark.)

Antes de que hubiera aire acondicionado, me quemaba de calor en el autobús durante las horas pico. (Before there was air conditioning, I used to burn from the heat on the bus during rush hour.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Quemarse (to burn oneself) 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.