agarrar Imperfect Conjugation
agarrar — to grab
The imperfect tense of agarrar (agarraba, agarrabas...) is regular and describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
agarrar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense with 'agarrar' to describe actions that were happening repeatedly or continuously in the past, or to set the scene. It answers 'What was happening?' or 'What used to happen?'.
Notes on agarrar in the Imperfect
Agarrar is regular in the imperfect tense. It follows the standard -ar verb conjugation pattern.
Example Sentences
Yo agarraba mi juguete favorito cada noche.
I used to grab my favorite toy every night.
yo
Tú agarrabas la mano de tu mamá.
You used to hold your mom's hand.
tú
Él agarraba el autobús escolar.
He used to catch the school bus.
él/ella/usted
Ellos agarraban las herramientas.
They were grabbing the tools.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single, completed past action.
Correct: For a completed action, use the preterite: 'Agarré el libro' (I grabbed the book), not 'Agarraba el libro'.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Confusing the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.
Correct: Both forms are identical: 'agarraba'. Context usually clarifies who is performing the action.
Why: This is a common feature of the imperfect tense for regular -ar and -er/-ir verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: agarro
The present tense of agarrar (agarro, agarras, agarra...) is regular and used for actions happening now, habits, or general truths.
Preterite
yo: agarré
The preterite of agarrar (agarré, agarraste...) is regular and used for completed actions in the past.
Future
yo: agarraré
The future tense for agarrar (e.g., agarraré, agarrarás) is regular and used for actions that will definitely happen.
Conditional
yo: agarraría
The conditional tense of agarrar (agarraría, agarrarías...) is regular and used for hypotheticals ('would grab') and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: agarre
Use present subjunctive forms like agarre (yo/él/ella/usted) and agarren (ellos/ellas/ustedes) after expressions of doubt, desire, or emotion.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: agarrara
The imperfect subjunctive for agarrar (e.g., agarrara, agarrase) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: agarra
Use imperative forms like agarra (tú) and agarren (ustedes) for direct commands with agarrar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no agarres
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive, like 'no agarres' (tú) or 'no agarren' (ustedes).