Recursio
Lesson 78. What I was like: era, iba, veía
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
era, iba, veía; describing the past
Three irregular verbs
Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect:
| ser | ir | ver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | era | iba | veía |
| tú | eras | ibas | veías |
| él, ella, usted | era | iba | veía |
| nosotros | éramos | íbamos | veíamos |
| vosotros | erais | ibais | veíais |
| ellos, ustedes | eran | iban | veían |
All other verbs follow lesson 77: tenía, vivía, jugaba.
Describing the past
What someone looked like and was like is usually told in the imperfect:
- personality — ser: Era muy tímida. Mi abuelo era alegre.
- looks — often tener: Tenía el pelo largo. Tenía barba.
- habits — Los domingos íbamos al campo.
Hair
Tener el pelo + adjective: el pelo largo / corto, rubio / moreno. You can also say ser rubio, ser morena. Spanish uses el pelo in the singular, like uncountable “hair” in English.
Moreno means “dark-haired”; in Spain it can also describe someone with a tan. Keep descriptions neutral.
Era una niña tímida. — I was a shy little girl.
Los domingos íbamos a la playa. — On Sundays we used to go to the beach.
Mi abuelo tenía barba. — My grandfather had a beard.
Antes veía mucho la tele. — I used to watch a lot of TV.
Tenía el pelo corto y moreno. — I had short dark hair.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Lucía Mira, Javier, una foto de mi infancia. Look, Javier, a photo from my childhood.
Javier ¿Esta eres tú? ¡Tenías el pelo largo! Is this you? You had long hair!
Lucía Sí, y era muy tímida. Yes, and I was very shy.
Javier ¿Y este? ¿Es tu abuelo? And this one? Is he your grandfather?
Lucía Sí. Tenía barba y era muy alegre. Yes. He had a beard and he was very cheerful.
Javier ¿Dónde vivíais? Where did you live?
Lucía En Madrid. Los domingos íbamos al campo con mis abuelos. In Madrid. On Sundays we used to go to the countryside with my grandparents.
Javier Yo de niño era muy travieso. ¡Y rubio! As a kid I was really naughty. And blond!
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. A woman talks about her childhood. How does she say “I was a shy little girl”?
2. How do you say “On Sundays we used to go to the beach”?
3. How do you say “My grandfather had a beard”?
4. How do you say “I used to watch a lot of TV”?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “I was a shy little girl”
Build the sentence: “My grandfather had a beard”
What you can do now
- Describe yourself as a child: Era una niña tímida.
- Talk about a habit: Los domingos íbamos a la playa.
- Describe appearance: Mi abuelo tenía barba.
- Describe hair: Tenía el pelo corto y moreno.
Key phrases of the lesson:
Era una niña tímida.
Los domingos íbamos a la playa.
Mi abuelo tenía barba.
Day 78 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 79. It was raining when I left: imperfect and preterite →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.