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Conjugation Chart of “Suceder” (to happen) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Suceder”

The Imperfect Tense of suceder is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Sucedía que siempre llegaba tarde a la oficina. (It used to happen that she always arrived late to the office.)

This is a regular -er verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect follow the typical pattern for this verb type.

How to Use Suceder in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of suceder is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

To happen: For example, Sucedían muchas cosas extrañas en esa casa. (Strange things used to happen in that house.) This meaning is typically only used in the third person forms.

To follow or succeed: For example, Después de la guerra, sucedieron años de reconstrucción. (After the war, years of reconstruction followed.) This meaning can be used with all subject pronouns.

To take someone’s place (colloquial): For example, Cuando el jefe se fue, su asistente lo sucedió en el cargo. (When the boss left, his assistant succeeded him in the position.)

Real Life Examples of Suceder in the Imperfect Tense

Cuando sucedía algo importante, mi abuela siempre nos reunía a todos. (Whenever something important happened, my grandmother would always gather us all together.)

El año pasado, sucedían muchos cambios en mi vida. (Last year, many changes were happening in my life.)

Mientras sucedía el concierto, la multitud vitoreaba sin parar. (While the concert was happening, the crowd was cheering non-stop.)

Nosotros sucedíamos a los antiguos residentes del edificio. (We were following after the former residents of the building.)

Ellos sucedían uno tras otro en la fila para comprar los boletos. (They were following one after the other in line to buy the tickets.)

Vosotros sucedíais a vuestros padres en el negocio familiar. (You were succeeding your parents in the family business.)

Ustedes sucedían a los empleados anteriores en sus puestos. (You were following after the previous employees in their positions.)

Yo sucedía a mi mentor como el nuevo líder del proyecto. (I was succeeding my mentor as the new project leader.)

Ella sucedía a su hermana como la nueva presidenta del club. (She was succeeding her sister as the new president of the club.)

Mientras sucedía el apagón, encendimos velas para iluminar la casa. (While the power outage was happening, we lit candles to light up the house.)

Cada vez que sucedía un terremoto, nos refugiábamos debajo de las mesas. (Whenever an earthquake happened, we would take shelter under the tables.)

El equipo sucedía al campeón anterior en el torneo. (The team was succeeding the previous champion in the tournament.)

Mientras sucedía la boda, los invitados disfrutaban de la recepción. (While the wedding was happening, the guests were enjoying the reception.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Suceder (to happen) in the Imperfect 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.