Spanish Imperfect Tense (Used To): Conti-Style Grammar Worksheet

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THIS RESOURCE

A ready-to-print, Conti-style Spanish imperfect tense worksheet for describing what used to happen, with a rule box, sentence builder and full answers.

The imperfect lets students talk about their childhood, describe the past and say what they used to do, and it is one of the easiest tenses to form. This worksheet makes the endings clear, then takes students step by step from noticing imperfect verbs in a short text to using them in their own writing.

Two pages that print double-sided, plus a separate answer page. Use it as a lesson, starter, homework, cover lesson or revision task.

WHAT’S INSIDE

Page 1: Reference and reading
How the imperfect works, explained in plain English, including the only three irregular verbs (ser, ir, ver)
Conjugation table for jugar, comer and vivir, with every ending highlighted
Key verbs: eight high-frequency verbs, each shown with its imperfect form
Sentence builder with childhood openers and frequency phrases (cuando era pequeño/a, de niño/a, a menudo)
Task 1: Short reading text about childhood. Students find the verbs and write each infinitive

Page 2: Practice
Task 2: Imperfect or preterite? A first look at habit versus single completed action
Task 3: Complete the verb
Task 4: Translate into English
Task 5: Translate into Spanish
Task 6: Challenge. Then and now: students compare their past and present using the imperfect and the present (Antes jugaba…, pero ahora…)

Answer page
Answers for every task, plus a model answer for the challenge

WHY THIS ONE’S DIFFERENT

Built on Gianfranco Conti’s Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI) methodology. Students process the structure receptively before they produce it, moving from reading and noticing, to choosing and completing, to translation in both directions, to personalised writing.

The sentence builder gives students ready-made childhood openers, so they can talk about their own past straight away.

The challenge combines the imperfect with the present tense, which is exactly the kind of tense contrast that makes writing stand out.

The English-to-Spanish sentences only use language students have already met on the sheet.

FORMAT

Fully editable PowerPoint, A4 portrait. Two worksheet pages designed for double-sided printing, plus a separate answer page.

Part of a Conti-style Spanish grammar worksheet series. Also available: The Preterite: Regular Verbs and The Preterite: Irregular Verbs.
Last updated: 7 October 2026.