
acercarse Imperfect Conjugation
acercarse — to approach
Acercarse is regular in the imperfect: me acercaba, te acercabas, se acercaba, nos acercábamos, os acercabais, se acercaban.
acercarse Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a slow approach in progress or a habit of getting close to something in the past.
Notes on acercarse in the Imperfect
Acercarse is regular in the imperfect. Note the accent mark on the 'nosotros' form: acercábamos.
Example Sentences
Mientras me acercaba, vi que la puerta estaba abierta.
While I was approaching, I saw the door was open.
yo
Siempre se acercaban a saludarnos.
They always used to come over to say hi to us.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nos acercábamos lentamente para no asustar al pájaro.
We were approaching slowly so as not to scare the bird.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'nos acercabamos'.
Correct: nos acercábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'nosotros' form.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'acercarse' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: me acerco
Acercarse is regular in the present tense: me acerco, te acercas, se acerca, nos acercamos, os acercáis, se acercan.
Preterite
yo: me acerqué
The preterite of acercarse has a spelling change in the first person: me acerqué, te acercaste, se acercó, nos acercamos, os acercasteis, se acercaron.
Future
yo: me acercaré
The future of acercarse is regular: me acercaré, te acercarás, se acercará, nos acercaremos, os acercaréis, se acercarán.
Conditional
yo: me acercaría
The conditional is regular: me acercaría, te acercarías, se acercaría, nos acercaríamos, os acercaríais, se acercarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: me acerque
The subjunctive requires a spelling change for all forms: me acerque, te acerques, se acerque, nos acerquemos, os acerquéis, se acerquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me acercara
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'ra' stem: me acercara, te acercaras, se acercara, nos acercáramos, os acercarais, se acercaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acércate
Use these for commands: acércate (tú), acérquese (usted), acerquémonos (nosotros), acercaos (vosotros), acérquense (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no te acerques
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no te acerques, no se acerque, no nos acerquemos, no os acerquéis, no se acerquen.