Describe Your Childhood in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to describe your childhood in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use the imperfect tense

• talk about habits in the past

• describe one’s childhood

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjectives

Spanish	English
antiguo	old
risueño	cheerful
travieso	mischievous

examples
El teatro era muy antiguo. The theater was very old.
Yo era un niño muy travieso. I was a very mischievous child.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la carpa	tent
el delantal	apron
las gafas	glasses
el huerto	vegetable garden
el repollo	cabbage
el tobogán	slide
el voleibol	volleyball

examples
En el jardín había una carpa. In the garden there was a tent.
Siempre llevaba un delantal. She always wore an apron.
Mis hermanas llevaban gafas. My sisters wore glasses.

Noun Phrase

Spanish	English
la casa del árbol	tree house

examples
Detrás de mi casa, teníamos una casa del árbol. Behind my house, we had a tree house.

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
de todo	a little bit of everything

examples
Era un lugar donde había de todo. It was a place where there was a little bit of everything.

Pronoun

Spanish	English
donde	where

examples
Era un lugar donde nunca nos aburríamos. It was a place where we never got bored.

The relative pronoun donde, which translates to where, is used when you want to add information about a place you have already mentioned.

Note that donde changes to adondewhen used with verbs of motion and direction.

Do not confuse these with the accented forms dónde and adónde, which are used in questions.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Aburrirse

Aburrirse(to get bored) is an -ir pronominal verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me aburría	I got bored
tú	te aburrías	you got bored	informal singular you
vos	te aburrías	you got bored	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se aburría	he, she got bored
usted	se aburría	you got bored	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos aburríamos	we got bored
vosotros, vosotras	os aburríais	you got bored	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se aburrían	they got bored
ustedes	se aburrían	you got bored	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Encantar

Encantar(to love) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.
Note that when we use encantar to mean to love, it behaves like gustar.

With verbs like gustar, the subject of the sentence is the thing being liked, while the thing doing the liking is expressed via an indirect object.

This table refers to loving a singular thing. If the thing that you loved is plural, use encantaban.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me encantaba	I loved
te encantaba	you loved	informal singular you
te encantaba	you loved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
le encantaba	he/she loved
le encantaba	you loved	formal singular you
nos encantaba	we loved
os encantaba	you loved	informal plural you (in Spain)
les encantaba	they loved
les encantaba	you loved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Estar

Estar(to be) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	estaba	I was
tú	estabas	you were	informal singular you
vos	estabas	you were	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	estaba	he, she was
usted	estaba	you were	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	estábamos	we were
vosotros, vosotras	estabais	you were	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	estaban	they were
ustedes	estaban	you were	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Fascinar

Fascinar(to be fascinated by) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.
Note that when we use fascinar to mean to be fascinated by, it behaves like gustar.

With verbs like gustar, the subject of the sentence is the thing being liked, while the thing doing the liking is expressed via an indirect object.

This table refers to being fascinated by a singular thing. If the thing you were fascinated by is plural, use fascinaban.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me fascinaba	I was fascinated by
te fascinaba	you were fascinated by	informal singular you
te fascinaba	you were fascinated by	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
le fascinaba	he/she was fascinated by
le fascinaba	you were fascinated by	formal singular you
nos fascinaba	we were fascinated by
os fascinaba	you were fascinated by	informal plural you (in Spain)
les fascinaba	they were fascinated by
les fascinaba	you were fascinated by	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Fascinar can also mean to love or to captivate!

Gustar

Gustar(to like) is a regular verb in the imperfect.

With verbs like gustar, the subject of the sentence is the thing being liked, while the thing doing the liking is expressed via an indirect object.

This table refers to liking a singular thing. If the thing that was liked is plural, use gustaban.

Conjugation	Translation	Notes
me gustaba	I liked
te gustaba	you liked	informal singular you
te gustaba	you liked	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
le gustaba	he, she liked
le gustaba	you liked	formal singular you
nos gustaba	we liked
os gustaba	you liked	informal plural you (in Spain)
les gustaba	they liked
les gustaba	you liked	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Haber

In this skill, you learned the verb haber. Haber is commonly used as an impersonal verb to state what exists. When we’re talking about the existence of something in the imperfect tense, we use one form of the verb: había. Note that the verb does not change in the imperfect tense when talking about singular or plural objects—you always use había!

examples
Allí siempre había venados. There were always deer there.

Hacer

Hacer(to do, to make) is a a regular verb in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	hacía	I did, made
tú	hacías	you did, made	informal singular you
vos	hacías	you did, made	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	hacía	he, she did, made
usted	hacía	you did, made	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	hacíamos	we did, made
vosotros, vosotras	hacíais	you did, made	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	hacían	they did, made
ustedes	hacían	you did, made	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

When used in the phrase hacer frío, hacer is translated as the verb to be. For example:

examples
Era un lugar donde hacía mucho frío. It was a place where it was very cold.

examples

Era un lugar donde hacía mucho frío.

It was a place where it was very cold.

Ir

Ir(to go) is an irregular verb in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	iba	I went
tú	ibas	you went	informal singular you
vos	ibas	you went	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	iba	he, she went
usted	iba	you went	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	íbamos	we went
vosotros, vosotras	ibais	you went	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	iban	they went
ustedes	iban	you went	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Jugar

Jugar(to play) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	jugaba	I played
tú	jugabas	you played	informal singular you
vos	jugabas	you played	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	jugaba	he, she played
usted	jugaba	you played	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	jugábamos	we played
vosotros, vosotras	jugabais	you played	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	jugaban	they played
ustedes	jugaban	you played	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Llevar

Llevar(to wear) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	llevaba	I wore
tú	llevabas	you wore	informal singular you
vos	llevabas	you wore	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	llevaba	he, she wore
usted	llevaba	you wore	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	llevábamos	we wore
vosotros, vosotras	llevabais	you wore	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	llevaban	they wore
ustedes	llevaban	you wore	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Plantar

Plantar(to plant) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	plantaba	I planted
tú	plantabas	you planted	informal singular you
vos	plantabas	you planted	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	plantaba	he, she planted
usted	plantaba	you planted	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	plantábamos	we planted
vosotros, vosotras	plantabais	you planted	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	plantaban	they planted
ustedes	plantaban	you planted	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Reparar

Reparar(to fix) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	reparaba	I fixed
tú	reparabas	you fixed	informal singular you
vos	reparabas	you fixed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	reparaba	he, she fixed
usted	reparaba	you fixed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	reparábamos	we fixed
vosotros, vosotras	reparabais	you fixed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	reparaban	they fixed
ustedes	reparaban	you fixed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Romperse

Romperse(to break) is an -er pronominal verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me rompía	I broke
tú	te rompías	you broke	informal singular you
vos	te rompías	you broke	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se rompía	he, she broke
usted	se rompía	you broke	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos rompíamos	we broke
vosotros, vosotras	os rompíais	you broke	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se rompían	they broke
ustedes	se rompía	you broke	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Ser

Ser(to be) is an irregular verb in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	era	I was
tú	eras	you were	informal singular you
vos	eras	you were	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	era	he, she was
usted	era	you were	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	éramos	we were
vosotros, vosotras	erais	you were	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	eran	they were
ustedes	eran	you were	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tener

Tener(to have) is an -er verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tenía	I had
tú	tenías	you had	informal singular you
vos	tenías	you had	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tenía	he, she had
usted	tenía	you had	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	teníamos	we had
vosotros, vosotras	teníais	you had	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tenían	they had
ustedes	tenía	you had	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tocar

Tocar(to play [an instrument]) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tocaba	I played
tú	tocabas	you played	informal singular you
vos	tocabas	you played	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tocaba	he, she played
usted	tocaba	you played	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tocábamos	we played
vosotros, vosotras	tocabais	you played	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tocaban	they played
ustedes	tocaban	you played	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tocar also means to touch. It’s important to remember that, in Spanish, you don’t jugar an instrument—you tocar an instrument!

Imperfect Verbs: Introduction

The imperfect tense, or pretérito imperfecto, is one of the two tenses used to talk about the past in Spanish. We use it to talk about descriptions in the past, like past habits and feelings, or to set the scene when talking about an action that was interrupted.

In these lessons, you learned some common expressions that indicate that the imperfect tense should be used. These expressions include:

de pequeño

horas y horas

nunca

siempre

todos los años

Imperfect Verbs: Regular Verbs

Conjugating verbs in the imperfect tense is simple! Just take the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) off the verb and add one of the following endings. Don’t forget the tildes(accents)!

Subject	-ar Verbs	-er and -ir Verbs
yo	-aba	-ía
tú	-abas	-ías
vos	-abas	-ías
él, ella, usted	-aba	-ía
nosotros	-ábamos	-íamos
vosotros	-abais	-íais
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-aban	-ían

Imperfect Tense: Irregular Verbs

Like any other tense in Spanish, the imperfect tense is, well, imperfect! It has irregular verbs too. In these lessons, you saw the irregular verbs ser and ir. You can find their conjugation tables earlier in this article.