TutorLily
Try for Free
SpanishConjugationImperfect

Ver (to see) · Imperfect

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Ver in the Spanish imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) is: yo veía, tú veías, él/ella/usted veía, nosotros/as veíamos, vosotros/as veíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes veían. The imperfect of ver is irregular — one of only THREE Spanish verbs whose imperfect doesn't follow the standard pattern. The expected form would be 'vía / vías / vía'; the actual form is 'veía / veías / veía'. The extra 'e' is the same one that appears in the present yo 'veo'.

ver conjugation in the Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto)
To SeeVer
I used to see
yo veía
you used to see
tú veías
he/she used to see
él/ella/usted veía
we used to see
nosotros/as veíamos
you used to see
vosotros/as veíais
they used to see
ellos/ellas/ustedes veían
Examples

Ver (to see) in context

Sentences that use ver in the imperfect. Tap each to hear it.

De niño, veía dibujos animados los sábados.

As a child, I used to watch cartoons on Saturdays.

Veías películas de terror cuando podías.

You used to watch horror movies whenever you could.

Mi padre veía las noticias todas las noches.

My father used to watch the news every night.

Veíamos el cielo lleno de estrellas.

We used to see the sky full of stars.

Veíais a vuestros primos cada verano.

You used to see your cousins every summer.

Los abuelos veían crecer a los niños.

The grandparents used to watch the children grow up.

Tip

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.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate ver in the imperfect?
The imperfect of ver is: yo veía, tú veías, él/ella/usted veía, nosotros/as veíamos, vosotros/as veíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes veían. The accent on 'í' is required in every form. The 'e' before 'í' is what makes ver's imperfect irregular — a fully regular -er verb would form 'vía / vías' from the bare stem.
Why is ver's imperfect irregular?
Only three Spanish verbs break the imperfect pattern: ser (era), ir (iba), and ver (veía). Ver's irregularity is preserving an older Latin-derived stem with the extra 'e' (the same 'e' visible in 'veo'). All three irregular-imperfect verbs are extremely high-frequency, and frequent words resist analogical regularization — the irregular forms were said so often that they survived intact through every Spanish sound change.
When do I use 'veía' instead of 'vi'?
Use 'veía' for habitual past viewing or ongoing sight: 'Cuando vivía en Madrid, veía a mi abuela todos los domingos' (When I lived in Madrid, I used to see my grandmother every Sunday). Use 'vi' for a one-time specific sighting: 'Ayer vi a mi abuela' (Yesterday I saw my grandmother). 'Veía' also works for an ongoing action interrupted by something else: 'Veía la tele cuando sonó el teléfono' (I was watching TV when the phone rang).
TutorLily

Practice Ver (To See) in real conversations

TutorLily is your personal language tutor that catches every mistake gently and keeps the conversation going.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

3-day free trial · Cancel anytime · 50+ languages

As seen on
BBC News

More tenses of Ver (To See)

← Previous tense
Ver (to see) · Preterite
Next tense →
Ver (to see) · Subjunctive

More verbs in imperfect

All tenses
Ver (to see)
imperfect
Ser (to be)
imperfect
Estar (to be)
imperfect
Tener (to have)
Get TutorLily