The Imperfect Tense of secarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past, for example, Me secaba el pelo después de bañarme. (I used to dry my hair after bathing.)

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Secarse (to dry oneself) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The imperfect tense of secarse is used to describe an ongoing or repeated action in the past.

Drying or becoming dry: For example, Las toallas se secaban al sol. (The towels were drying in the sun.)

Figurative drying up: For example, Se me secaba la garganta de tanto hablar. (My throat was drying up from talking so much.)

Withering or drying out: For example, Las plantas se secaban por falta de agua. (The plants were withering from lack of water.)

Colloquial: Ignoring or avoiding someone: For example, Me secaba cada vez que intentaba hablarle. (They were ignoring me every time I tried to talk to them.)

Examples

Examples of Secarse in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando era niño, mi cabello se secaba muy rápido después de bañarme. (When I was a child, my hair would dry very quickly after bathing.)

El verano pasado, las plantas del jardín se secaban con tanta frecuencia que teníamos que regarlas todos los días. (Last summer, the garden plants would dry out so often that we had to water them every day.)

Mis lágrimas se secaban lentamente mientras escuchaba las palabras reconfortantes de mi madre. (My tears would slowly dry as I listened to my mother’s comforting words.)

Cuando se secaban las hojas en otoño, los niños las juntaban para hacer montones y jugar. (When the leaves would dry in the fall, the children would gather them to make piles and play.)

La pintura se secaba muy lentamente, así que tuvimos que esperar un día entero antes de colgar el cuadro. (The paint would dry very slowly, so we had to wait an entire day before hanging the painting.)

Vosotros os secabais el sudor de la frente después de jugar al fútbol bajo el sol abrasador. (You would dry the sweat from your foreheads after playing soccer in the scorching sun.)

Aunque se secaba rápidamente, la tinta de mi pluma seguía corriendo por el papel. (Even though it would dry quickly, the ink from my pen would still smear on the paper.)

El concreto se secaba lentamente, así que tuvimos que esperar varios días antes de poder caminar sobre él. (The concrete would dry slowly, so we had to wait several days before we could walk on it.)

Después de nadar en el lago, nos secábamos al sol tomándonos un descanso en la orilla. (After swimming in the lake, we would dry off in the sun while taking a break on the shore.)

La ropa se secaba rápidamente en la secadora, pero preferíamos colgarla afuera para que oliera fresca. (The clothes would dry quickly in the dryer, but we preferred to hang them outside so they would smell fresh.)

Cuando se secaban las lágrimas, ella podía ver con más claridad y seguir adelante. (When the tears would dry, she could see more clearly and move forward.)

El lodo se secaba formando una costra dura en el suelo después de la lluvia. (The mud would dry forming a hard crust on the ground after the rain.)

Ustedes se secaban el sudor de la frente con una toalla pequeña después del entrenamiento. (You would dry the sweat from your foreheads with a small towel after training.)

La pintura de agua se secaba muy rápido, por lo que teníamos que trabajar con prisa. (The watercolor paint would dry very quickly, so we had to work fast.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Secarse (to dry oneself) 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.