The Imperfect Tense of traer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo traía la comida a la mesa todos los días. (I used to bring the food to the table every day.)

This verb follows the accented -ía conjugation pattern in the Imperfect Tense, with accent marks on the í in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Traer (to bring) in the Imperfect Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

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

Bringing or carrying something: For example, Yo traía la comida a la mesa todos los días. (I used to bring the food to the table every day.)

Fetching or getting something: For example, Ella traía el periódico por las mañanas. (She used to fetch the newspaper in the mornings.)

Wearing or having something on: For example, Él traía puestos unos pantalones viejos. (He was wearing some old pants.)

Causing or leading to a result: For example, Sus mentiras traían muchos problemas. (His lies used to cause a lot of problems.)

Colloquial usage: In some regions, traer can be used informally to mean “to have” or “to carry on oneself,” as in No traía dinero encima. (I didn’t have any money on me.)

Examples

Examples of Traer in the Imperfect Tense

Yo traía la comida mientras mi esposa preparaba la mesa. (I was bringing the food while my wife set the table.)

Cuando éramos niños, traíamos flores del jardín para nuestra madre. (When we were children, we used to bring flowers from the garden for our mother.)

Ellos traían regalos cada vez que nos visitaban. (They would bring gifts every time they visited us.)

Tú traías tanta alegría a nuestras reuniones familiares. (You used to bring so much joy to our family gatherings.)

Mis abuelos traían tradiciones de su pueblo natal. (My grandparents used to bring traditions from their hometown.)

¿Recuerdas cuando traíamos bocadillos al parque para merendar? (Do you remember when we used to bring snacks to the park for a picnic?)

Ella traía un libro nuevo cada semana de la biblioteca. (She would bring a new book every week from the library.)

Ustedes traían tanta energía positiva a nuestras reuniones de trabajo. (You all used to bring so much positive energy to our work meetings.)

Vosotros traíais siempre las mejores ideas para nuestros proyectos. (You all used to always bring the best ideas for our projects.)

Él traía un ramo de flores cada vez que iba a visitar a su novia. (He would bring a bouquet of flowers every time he went to visit his girlfriend.)

Nosotros traíamos comida casera para compartir en los picnics de la oficina. (We used to bring homemade food to share at the office picnics.)

¿Recuerdas cuando traías tu guitarra a las fogatas en la playa? (Do you remember when you used to bring your guitar to the bonfires at the beach?)

Ellas traían artesanías únicas de sus viajes al extranjero. (They would bring unique handicrafts from their trips abroad.)

Vosotros traíais tanta diversión a nuestras fiestas de disfraces. (You all used to bring so much fun to our costume parties.)

Él traía un nuevo chiste cada día para animarnos en el trabajo. (He would bring a new joke every day to cheer us up at work.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Traer (to bring) 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.