The Imperfect Tense of reducir is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo reducía mi consumo de plástico. (I was reducing my plastic consumption.)

Reducir is a regular -ir verb, so its Imperfect Tense conjugations follow the typical pattern for that verb type.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Reducir (to reduce) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Describing an ongoing action in the past: For example, Reducía el consumo de energía para ahorrar dinero. (I was reducing energy consumption to save money.)

Expressing a repeated or habitual action in the past: For example, Cada verano reducía mi actividad física. (Every summer I used to reduce my physical activity.)

Describing a past action without a specific beginning or end: For example, Reducía la velocidad al acercarse a las curvas. (I would reduce speed when approaching curves.)

Expressing an action that was interrupted or incomplete in the past: For example, Reducía el consumo de carne, pero no pude mantenerlo. (I was reducing my meat consumption, but I couldn’t keep it up.)

Describing a past state or condition: For example, La empresa reducía sus gastos debido a la crisis económica. (The company was reducing its expenses due to the economic crisis.)

Expressing a polite request or suggestion in the past: For example, ¿Reducías un poco el volumen, por favor? (Could you reduce the volume a bit, please?)

Examples

Examples of Reducir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo reducía mi consumo de plástico para ayudar al medio ambiente. (I was reducing my plastic consumption to help the environment.)

Ellos reducían la velocidad al acercarse a la zona escolar. (They were reducing their speed when approaching the school zone.)

Nosotros reducíamos el uso de la calefacción para ahorrar energía. (We were reducing the use of heating to save energy.)

Tú reducías las porciones de comida para mantener una dieta saludable. (You were reducing food portions to maintain a healthy diet.)

Vosotros reducíais el volumen de la música por respeto a los vecinos. (You (plural informal) were reducing the volume of the music out of respect for the neighbors.)

Ella reducía el estrés practicando yoga regularmente. (She was reducing stress by practicing yoga regularly.)

Ustedes reducían los gastos para ahorrar dinero. (You (plural formal) were reducing expenses to save money.)

Yo reducía la cantidad de azúcar en mis bebidas para cuidar mi salud. (I was reducing the amount of sugar in my drinks to take care of my health.)

Ellos reducían el desperdicio de alimentos en su restaurante. (They were reducing food waste in their restaurant.)

Nosotros reducíamos el uso de papel en la oficina para ser más ecológicos. (We were reducing paper use in the office to be more eco-friendly.)

Tú reducías las horas extras para pasar más tiempo con tu familia. (You were reducing overtime to spend more time with your family.)

Vosotros reducíais la velocidad al conducir por las calles estrechas. (You (plural informal) were reducing speed when driving through narrow streets.)

Ella reducía su huella de carbono utilizando transporte público. (She was reducing her carbon footprint by using public transportation.)

Ustedes reducían el ruido en la biblioteca para no molestar a los demás. (You (plural formal) were reducing noise in the library so as not to disturb others.)

Yo reducía mi consumo de carne por razones éticas. (I was reducing my meat consumption for ethical reasons.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Reducir (to reduce) 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.