- Weather
Llovía.
It was raining.
- Age
Cuando tenía tres años, quería ser bombera.
When I was three, I wanted to be a firefighter.
- Time
Eran las cuatro.
It was four o'clock.
- Emotion
Estaba cansada.
I was tired.
- Repetition
Yo visitaba a mi abuela de vez en cuando.
I used to visit my grandmother from time to time.
- Setting or description
El sol brillaba y la vista era bonita.
The sun was shining and the view was pretty.
Since the English language doesn't have a special tense to indicate repetitive or ongoing actions, there are a number of ways to get across this idea. The expression “used to …“ in front of a verb, or even using the word “would” in front of the verb can indicate repetitive actions. For example: “I used to study a lot” or “I would cry every day in kindergarten.” To show ongoing actions in English, the past progressive tense is often used: “I was studying …“ Don't try to translate these expressions literally into Spanish, just use the imperfect conjugation of the verb.