abrir Imperfect Conjugation
abrir — to open
The imperfect of abrir follows the regular -ir pattern: abría, abrías, abría, abríamos, abríais, abrían.
abrir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a past habit (like opening a window every night) or to set the scene (the door was opening slowly).
Notes on abrir in the Imperfect
Abrir is regular in the imperfect. All forms have an accent on the first 'i' of the ending.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo siempre abría los regalos antes de tiempo.
As a child, I always opened the presents early.
yo
Nosotros abríamos la tienda a las nueve cada día.
We used to open the store at nine every day.
nosotros
Las ventanas se abrían con el viento.
The windows were opening with the wind.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: abrian
Correct: abrían
Why: Learners often forget the mandatory accent mark on the 'i' in the imperfect endings for -ir verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: abro
The present tense of abrir is regular: abro, abres, abre, abrimos, abrís, abren.
Preterite
yo: abrí
Abrir is regular in the preterite: abrí, abriste, abrió, abrimos, abristeis, abrieron.
Future
yo: abriré
The future of abrir uses the infinitive as the stem: abriré, abrirás, abrirá, abriremos, abriréis, abrirán.
Conditional
yo: abriría
The conditional of abrir is regular: abriría, abrirías, abriría, abriríamos, abriríais, abrirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: abra
The present subjunctive of abrir uses the 'a' endings: abra, abras, abra, abramos, abráis, abran.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: abriera
The imperfect subjunctive of abrir uses the preterite stem: abriera, abrieras, abriera, abriéramos, abrierais, abrieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: abre
The affirmative imperative for abrir: abre (tú), abra (usted), abramos (nosotros), abrid (vosotros), abran (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no abras
The negative imperative of abrir uses the present subjunctive: no abras, no abra, no abramos, no abráis, no abran.