The Imperfect Tense of recordar is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Cuando era niño, recordaba jugar con mis amigos en el parque. (When I was a child, I remembered playing with my friends in the park.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Recordar (to remember) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The imperfect tense of recordar is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, or to set the scene for another past action.

Remembering something in the past: For example, Yo recordaba las vacaciones de mi infancia. (I remembered the vacations of my childhood.)

Describing a habitual or repeated action in the past: For example, Cada mañana recordaba llamar a mi mamá. (Every morning I remembered to call my mom.)

Setting the scene for another past action: For example, Recordaba que tenía que ir al banco cuando sonó el teléfono. (I remembered that I had to go to the bank when the phone rang.)

Expressing a state of mind or emotion in the past: For example, No recordaba si había cerrado la puerta con llave. (I didn’t remember if I had locked the door.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: ¡Recordá no olvidarte de pagar la cuenta! (Remember not to forget to pay the bill! – used for emphasis or as a playful reminder.)

Examples

Examples of Recordar in the Imperfect Tense

Yo recordaba con cariño los días de mi infancia. (I fondly remembered the days of my childhood.)

Ella recordaba haber visto esa película, pero no podía recordar los detalles. (She remembered having seen that movie, but she couldn’t recall the details.)

Nosotros recordábamos las vacaciones familiares con mucha nostalgia. (We remembered the family vacations with great nostalgia.)

Tú recordabas la contraseña de tu cuenta, ¿verdad? (You remembered the password to your account, right?)

Ellos recordaban con claridad el día en que se conocieron. (They clearly remembered the day they met.)

¿Recordabas dónde dejaste las llaves? (Estaba buscándolas por todas partes). (Did you remember where you left the keys? (I was looking for them everywhere).)

Yo recordaba vagamente haber visto esa película, pero no estaba seguro. (I vaguely remembered having seen that movie, but I wasn’t sure.)

Ella recordaba con cariño las tardes que pasaba con su abuela. (She fondly remembered the afternoons she spent with her grandmother.)

Nosotros recordábamos con orgullo nuestros logros del año pasado. (We proudly remembered our achievements from last year.)

Tú recordabas la dirección de la oficina, ¿no? (Necesito ir para allá). (You remembered the address of the office, didn’t you? (I need to go there).)

Ellos recordaban con tristeza el día en que su mascota falleció. (They sadly remembered the day their pet passed away.)

¿Recordabas que teníamos una cita hoy? (Lo siento, se me olvidó por completo). (Did you remember that we had a date today? (I’m sorry, I completely forgot).)

Yo recordaba haber estudiado mucho para ese examen, pero aún así no me fue bien. (I remembered having studied a lot for that exam, but I still didn’t do well.)

Ella recordaba con nostalgia los días en que vivía en el campo. (She nostalgically remembered the days when she lived in the countryside.)

Nosotros recordábamos con alegría la boda de nuestros amigos. (We joyfully remembered our friends’ wedding.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Recordar (to remember) 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.