ahorrar Imperfect Conjugation
ahorrar — to save (money)
Use 'ahorraba', 'ahorrabas', 'ahorraba', 'ahorrábamos', 'ahorrabais', 'ahorraban' for past habits or ongoing savings.
ahorrar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
The imperfect is for describing past situations or habits without a clear beginning or end. Think of ongoing actions: 'Cuando era joven, ahorraba cada euro' (When I was young, I used to save every euro) or background details: 'Mientras trabajaba, ahorraba para la universidad' (While he worked, he was saving for university).
Notes on ahorrar in the Imperfect
Ahorrar is regular in the imperfect tense. The endings are standard for -ar verbs in this tense.
Example Sentences
Yo ahorraba dinero cuando vivía en casa.
I used to save money when I lived at home.
yo
¿Tú ahorrabas para algo especial?
Were you saving for something special?
tú
Ella ahorraba todo lo que podía.
She saved everything she could.
él/ella/usted
Antes, ahorrábamos para las vacaciones cada año.
Before, we saved for vacation every year.
nosotros
Ellos ahorraban mucho en esa época.
They saved a lot back then.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite 'ahorré' for a past habit.
Correct: For habits or ongoing actions in the past, use the imperfect: 'Antes, ahorraba mucho'.
Why: The imperfect describes continuous or repeated actions, while the preterite describes single, completed events.
Mistake: Confusing 'ahorrábamos' (nosotros) with 'ahorrabamos' (no accent).
Correct: The 'nosotros' form requires an accent: 'ahorrábamos'.
Why: The accent indicates the stressed syllable in this specific form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: ahorro
Use 'ahorro', 'ahorras', 'ahorra', 'ahorramos', 'ahorráis', 'ahorran' for saving now or habitually.
Preterite
yo: ahorré
Use 'ahorré', 'ahorraste', 'ahorró', 'ahorramos', 'ahorrasteis', 'ahorraron' for completed past savings.
Future
yo: ahorraré
Use 'ahorraré', 'ahorrarás', 'ahorrará', 'ahorraremos', 'ahorraréis', 'ahorrarán' for future savings.
Conditional
yo: ahorraría
Use 'ahorraría', 'ahorrarías', 'ahorraría', 'ahorraríamos', 'ahorraríais', 'ahorrarían' for hypothetical savings or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ahorre
Use 'ahorre', 'ahorres', 'ahorre', 'ahorremos', 'ahorréis', 'ahorren' after wishes, doubts, emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: ahorrara
Use 'ahorrara' or 'ahorrase' for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ahorra
Use 'ahorra', 'ahorre', 'ahorremos', 'ahorrad', 'ahorren' for direct commands with ahorrar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no ahorres
Use 'no ahorres', 'no ahorre', 'no ahorremos', 'no ahorréis', 'no ahorren' for negative commands.