Querer (to want) · Imperfect
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Querer in the Spanish imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) is: yo quería, tú querías, él/ella/usted quería, nosotros/as queríamos, vosotros/as queríais, ellos/ellas/ustedes querían. The imperfect of querer keeps the stative 'wanted' or 'loved' meaning. 'Quería aprender español' = 'I wanted to learn Spanish (back then)'. Querer is fully regular in the imperfect.
| To Want | Querer |
|---|---|
| I used to want | yo quería |
| you used to want | tú querías |
| he/she used to want | él/ella/usted quería |
| we used to want | nosotros/as queríamos |
| you used to want | vosotros/as queríais |
| they used to want | ellos/ellas/ustedes querían |
Querer (to want) in context
Sentences that use querer in the imperfect. Tap each to hear it.
As a child, I wanted to be a firefighter.
You wanted to buy yourself a guitar.
My grandmother loved her grandchildren very much.
We wanted to travel through Europe together.
You wanted to watch the game at the stadium.
The kids wanted to go to the park.
Working with the imperfect
The imperfect paints the background of a past scene: weather, age, habits, descriptions, ongoing actions that get interrupted. "Era de noche" (it was nighttime), "tenía cinco años" (I was five years old), "iba al parque cuando me llamaste" (I was going to the park when you called me). Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect — ser (era), ir (iba), and ver (veía). Every other Spanish verb is regular here, which makes the imperfect one of the easiest tenses to learn.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate querer in the imperfect?
When do I use 'quería' instead of 'quise'?
How do I make polite requests with querer?
Practice Querer (To Want) in real conversations
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