Ser (to be) · Imperfect
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Ser in the Spanish imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) is: yo era, tú eras, él/ella/usted era, nosotros/as éramos, vosotros/as erais, ellos/ellas/ustedes eran. The imperfect of ser describes ongoing past identity, characteristics, or background — the way things 'used to be' without a defined endpoint. It is often used for descriptions in storytelling.
| To Be | Ser |
|---|---|
| I used to be | yo era |
| you used to be | tú eras |
| he/she used to be | él/ella/usted era |
| we used to be | nosotros/as éramos |
| you used to be | vosotros/as erais |
| they used to be | ellos/ellas/ustedes eran |
Ser (to be) in context
Sentences that use ser in the imperfect. Tap each to hear it.
When I was a child, I lived in Mexico.
You were very quiet as a child.
My grandmother was a strong woman.
We were neighbors years ago.
You were the best on the team.
They were very different in that era.
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 ser in the imperfect?
When should I use 'era' instead of 'fue'?
Why does the imperfect of ser only have three irregular verbs?
Practice Ser (To Be) in real conversations
TutorLily is your personal language tutor that catches every mistake gently and keeps the conversation going.
3-day free trial · Cancel anytime · 50+ languages
More tenses of Ser (To Be)
More verbs in imperfect
Get the app