The Imperfect Tense of Repetir is used to describe repeated or ongoing actions in the past, for example, Repetía las palabras una y otra vez. (I repeated the words over and over again.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Repetir (to repeat) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Describing repeated actions: For example, De niño repetía las palabras que escuchaba. (As a child, I used to repeat the words I heard.)

Describing ongoing actions: For example, Repetía la lección una y otra vez. (I kept repeating the lesson over and over.)

Expressing habits or customs: For example, Antes repetíamos los refranes populares. (We used to repeat popular sayings back then.)

Colloquial usage: ¡Deja de repetir lo mismo! (Stop repeating the same thing!) can express annoyance at someone’s insistence.

Examples

Examples of Repetir in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, repetía las mismas canciones una y otra vez. (When I was a child, I would repeat the same songs over and over again.)

Mi abuela repetía las mismas historias familiares cada vez que nos reuníamos. (My grandmother would repeat the same family stories every time we got together.)

El profesor repetía las instrucciones con paciencia hasta que todos las entendían. (The teacher would patiently repeat the instructions until everyone understood them.)

Cada vez que veía una película, repetía las frases más graciosas sin parar. (Every time I watched a movie, I would repeat the funniest lines over and over.)

En la clase de idiomas, repetíamos las palabras nuevas varias veces para memorizarlas. (In the language class, we would repeat the new words several times to memorize them.)

Vosotros repetíais las mismas bromas una y otra vez, hasta que ya no tenían gracia. (You (plural) would repeat the same jokes over and over again, until they were no longer funny.)

Ella repetía el mantra en voz baja mientras meditaba. (She would repeat the mantra softly while meditating.)

Ustedes repetían los mismos errores una y otra vez, a pesar de mis advertencias. (You (plural) would repeat the same mistakes over and over again, despite my warnings.)

El entrenador repetía las mismas instrucciones en cada práctica, para que nos quedaran grabadas. (The coach would repeat the same instructions at every practice, so that they would stick in our minds.)

Yo repetía las palabras en voz alta para memorizarlas mejor. (I would repeat the words out loud to better memorize them.)

Tú repetías el mismo chiste una y otra vez, hasta que ya no me causaba gracia. (You would repeat the same joke over and over again, until it was no longer funny to me.)

Ellos repetían las mismas excusas cada vez que llegaban tarde. (They would repeat the same excuses every time they were late.)

Nosotros repetíamos los pasos de baile una y otra vez hasta que los dominamos. (We would repeat the dance steps over and over again until we mastered them.)

Ella repetía el mismo patrón de comportamiento, sin darse cuenta de ello. (She would repeat the same behavior pattern, without realizing it.)

Vosotros repetíais las mismas frases de moda, aunque ya no tenían sentido. (You (plural) would repeat the same trendy phrases, even though they no longer made sense.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Repetir (to repeat) 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.