acelerar Imperfect Conjugation
acelerar — to speed up
Imperfect 'aceleraba' describes past ongoing actions or descriptions.
acelerar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense of 'acelerar' to describe actions that were happening over a period of time in the past, or habitual actions. It sets the scene, like 'He was speeding up' or 'He used to speed up.'
Notes on acelerar in the Imperfect
Acelerar is regular in the imperfect indicative. The endings are standard for -ar verbs in this tense.
Example Sentences
Yo aceleraba cuando el motor empezó a fallar.
I was speeding up when the engine started to fail.
yo
Tú siempre acelerabas en esa bajada.
You always used to speed up on that downhill.
tú
El coche aceleraba mientras subía la cuesta.
The car was accelerating as it went up the hill.
él/ella/usted
Ellos nos veían y aceleraban para alcanzarnos.
They saw us and sped up to catch us.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using imperfect for a completed past action.
Correct: For 'I sped up and finished the race', use the preterite 'aceleré'. For 'I was speeding up during the race', use 'aceleraba'.
Why: The imperfect describes the background or ongoing nature, not the start or end of an event.
Mistake: Incorrectly conjugating the 'vosotros' form.
Correct: The correct form is 'acelerabais', not 'aceleraban' or similar.
Why: The '-ais' ending is specific to the 'vosotros' imperfect indicative.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: acelero
Present tense 'acelero', 'aceleras', etc., describes current or habitual actions.
Preterite
yo: aceleré
Preterite 'aceleré', 'aceleraste', etc., marks completed past actions like 'I sped up'.
Future
yo: aceleraré
Future tense 'aceleraré', 'acelerarás', etc., predicts or expresses probability.
Conditional
yo: aceleraría
Conditional 'aceleraría', 'acelerarías', etc., means 'would' speed up.
Present Subjunctive
yo: acelere
Present subjunctive like 'acelere' follows wishes, doubts, and emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: acelerara
Use imperfect subjunctive like 'acelerara' for past hypotheticals or wishes, often with 'si' (if).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acelera
Use imperative forms like 'acelera' (tú) for direct commands, e.g., '¡Acelera!'
Negative Imperative
yo: no aceleres
Negative commands use 'no' plus present subjunctive, like 'no aceleres' (tú).