Ser vs. Estar: Mastering the Spanish Past Progressive Tense

Sometimes even native Spanish speakers get confused between “ser” and “estar.” When the tricky past progressive tense gets thrown into the mix, it’s completely understandable! Let’s break down this grammar point in a way that’s fun and easy to remember.

What’s the Past Progressive Tense?

This tense is used to talk about something that was happening at a specific time in the past. Think of it like a snapshot of an action in progress. In English, we form this by saying “was/were” + a verb ending in “-ing” (like “was eating” or “were running”).

“Estar”: Your Past Progressive Powerhouse

In most cases, you’ll use “estar” in the past progressive tense. Here’s how it looks in the imperfect tense:

Subject Pronoun	Estar Conjugation
Yo (I)	estaba
Tú (You, informal)	estabas
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You, formal)	estaba
Nosotros/Nosotras (We)	estábamos
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (They/You, plural)	estaban

How to Form the Past Progressive

1. Conjugate “estar” as shown above.
2. Drop the -ar, -er, or -ir from the main verb.
3. Add “-ando” for -ar verbs or “-iendo” for -er/-ir verbs.

For instance, “hablar” (to talk) becomes “hablando” (talking), and “comer” (to eat) turns into “comiendo” (eating).

Examples:

• Yo estaba hablando con María. (I was talking to María.)
• Ellos estaban comiendo en el restaurante. (They were eating at the restaurant.)

Ser in the Past Progressive

You can use “ser” in the past progressive, but it’s less common and usually seen in writing. It adds a sense of something being an inherent part of someone’s character. Here’s the imperfect of “ser”:

Subject Pronoun	Ser Conjugation
Yo (I)	era
Tú (You, informal)	eras
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You, formal)	era
Nosotros/Nosotras (We)	éramos
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (They/You, plural)	eran

The present participle is used identically as with “estar”. “Ser” in the past progressive adds a nuance of inherent or identifying qualities in the action being described.

Usage examples (Remember, these are less common!):

• Tú eras comiendo la manzana muy despacio. (You were eating the apple very slowly.) – This might be used to express that the slow eating was characteristic of the person in the past.
• Nosotros éramos corriendo cada día. (We were running every day.) – This could suggest that running every day was an inherent part of our routine.

Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.

Or, learn more about LingoToGo here.

(One Week Free only available to students in the Americas and Europe. If you’re outside these regions, check out our offers here.)