noun / adjective
imperfect
A verb form expressing ongoing or habitual action in the past.
In Spanish, the imperfect often describes habits from the past.
Etymology
The Latin adjective means unfinished. The grammatical form presents a past action as ongoing or habitual, without emphasizing its completion as a bounded event.
More examples
- Use the imperfect for what you regularly did as a child.
- The imperfect tense sets the scene before the main event.
- Here, the imperfect shows that the rain was still falling.
Forms
imperfect · imperfects
Similar words
- past progressive
- Specifically marks past action in progress, rather than past habits.