The Imperfect Tense of Repetir is used to describe repeated or ongoing actions in the past, for example: Yo repetía las palabras para practicar mi pronunciación. (I repeated the words to practice my pronunciation.)

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 (Latin American Spanish):

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

Expressing a repeated action in the past: For example, Cuando era niño, repetía las canciones que escuchaba en la radio. (When I was a child, I used to repeat the songs I heard on the radio.)

Describing an ongoing or habitual action in the past: For example, Mi hermano repetía las mismas bromas una y otra vez. (My brother kept repeating the same jokes over and over again.)

Expressing an action interrupted in the past: For example, Repetía la lección cuando mi mamá me llamó. (I was repeating the lesson when my mom called me.)

Slang/Idiomatic usage: Repetir la dosis (to repeat the dose) can mean to do something again, often referring to drinking alcohol or taking drugs. ¿Repetimos? (Shall we repeat?) can be used to suggest having another drink or round.

Examples

Examples of Repetir in the Imperfect Tense

Yo repetía la lección una y otra vez para memorizarla. (I kept repeating the lesson over and over to memorize it.)

Ella repetía las mismas excusas cada vez que llegaba tarde. (She kept repeating the same excuses every time she was late.)

El instructor repetía las instrucciones con paciencia para que todos entendieran. (The instructor patiently kept repeating the instructions so everyone would understand.)

Aunque le molestaba, mi amigo repetía el chiste una y otra vez. (Even though it annoyed him, my friend kept repeating the joke over and over.)

La niña repetía las palabras que escuchaba a su alrededor mientras aprendía a hablar. (The little girl kept repeating the words she heard around her as she learned to speak.)

Mi abuela repetía las mismas historias familiares en cada reunión. (My grandmother kept repeating the same family stories at every gathering.)

El político repetía su eslogan una y otra vez durante la campaña. (The politician kept repeating his slogan over and over during the campaign.)

Aunque ya lo sabía, mi jefe repetía las reglas de la empresa constantemente. (Even though I already knew them, my boss kept repeating the company rules constantly.)

El entrenador repetía los ejercicios con el equipo hasta que los dominaran. (The coach kept repeating the drills with the team until they mastered them.)

Cada vez que discutíamos, mi pareja repetía los mismos argumentos una y otra vez. (Every time we argued, my partner kept repeating the same points over and over.)

La maestra repetía las tablas de multiplicar con los estudiantes todos los días. (The teacher kept repeating the multiplication tables with the students every day.)

Aunque era molesto, el vecino repetía la misma canción a todo volumen. (Even though it was annoying, the neighbor kept repeating the same song at full volume.)

Mi hermano menor repetía las mismas bromas una y otra vez hasta que me reía. (My little brother kept repeating the same jokes over and over until I laughed.)

La presentadora repetía las instrucciones para el concurso varias veces. (The host kept repeating the instructions for the contest several times.)

Aunque ya lo sabía de memoria, mi abuelo repetía sus historias de la guerra cada vez que podía. (Even though I knew them by heart, my grandfather kept repeating his war stories whenever he could.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Repetir (to repeat) 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.