Perdía

Perdía is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb perder, meaning “to lose.” It is used to describe ongoing or habitual past actions or states, rather than a single completed event. In the imperfect, perdía appears in the first and third person singular forms (yo perdía, él/ella/Ud. perdía) and is the common way to express past loss without specifying a definite moment.

Usage and meaning

Perder in the imperfect conveys repetition, routine, or a background situation. It often sets the scene in past narrative or describes things that happened repeatedly over time. Common collocations include adverbs such as a menudo, frequently, often, and phrases like cuando era niño or antes, where the action of losing is presented as part of a longer pattern.

Examples

Examples include: “Cuando era niño, perdía las llaves con frecuencia.” and “Ella perdía el tren y llegaba tarde.” In contrast, the preterite perder (perdió) expresses a completed loss at a specific moment, such as “Ella perdió las llaves ayer.”

Etymology and related forms

Perder derives from Latin perdere, meaning to waste or ruin. The imperfect form perdía (with the accent marking the stressed syllable) is part of the standard conjugation pattern for -er verbs in the imperfect tense. Other persons form differently (tú perdías, nosotros perdíamos, vosotros perdíais, ellos perdían), but perdía is the common form found in yo and él/ella/Ud. contexts.

Note

Perdía functions as a verb form, not as a standalone noun or term. Its primary significance is grammatical, signaling past habitual or ongoing loss rather than a single act of losing.