andar means: to walk
Click to see all conjugation charts of andar in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb andar in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the andar conjugation. For an overview of Simple Tenses conjugation see the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

We also have a Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Imperfecto. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you will get additional information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Imperfecto to English

Notice that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

Note the timeline

The ability to correctly locate the intended position on the timeline is an important skill for the right choice of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, writing and reading. After a bit practice you’ll be able to select the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Imperfecto belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of its conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each conjugated form consists of two words.The verb andar has regular conjugation in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means this verb simply follows the general rules for its group (-ar) without any exceptions, spelling corrections and the like. This tense is really easy, as there are only three irregular verbs! The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s easy to do. Simply remove two letters from the end of the infinitive form and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of the verb andar it’s easy to see that:

• the stem is: and-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem and- in each person as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Analyze the image showing all six endings. Notice the colors and shapes of the letters. It will help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -aba for the first person singular to create andaba:

• yo andaba – I walked

And as before add the regular ending -abas for the second person singular to create andabas:

• tú andabas – you walked

One more time add the regular ending -aba for the third person singular to create andaba:

• él andaba – he walked
• ella andaba – she walked
• usted andaba – (formal) you walked

And as before add the regular ending -ábamos for the first person plural to create andábamos. Note difference in spelling

Only the first person plural has an accent here.

This difference exists only in case of the verbs from the -ar group. Other groups always have an accented i in the ending in this tense.So add the accent to get andábamos:

• nosotros andábamos – we walked
• nosotras andábamos – (feminine) we walked

One more time add the regular ending -abais for the second person plural to create andabais:

• vosotros andabais – (plural) you walked
• vosotras andabais – (feminine, plural) you walked

And again add the regular ending -aban for the third person plural to create andaban:

• ellos andaban – they walked
• ellas andaban – (feminine) they walked
• ustedes andaban – (formal, plural) you walked

¡Ya está! The conjugation is now finished. That’s the final result:

yo	andaba	I walked
tú	andabas	you walked
él/ella/usted	andaba	he/she/it walked
nosotros/nosotras	andábamos	we walked
vosotros/vosotras	andabais	you walked
ellos/ellas/ustedes	andaban	they walked

Click to see all conjugation charts of andar in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to retain it. Check below for next steps.

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your skills try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresentePretéritoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to andar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for andar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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