alegrar Imperfect Conjugation
alegrar — to cheer up
Alegrar in the imperfect uses the -aba endings: alegraba, alegrabas, alegraba, alegrábamos, alegrabais, alegraban.
alegrar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for ongoing past states or habitual actions, like describing how someone used to cheer people up regularly.
Notes on alegrar in the Imperfect
This verb is regular in the imperfect. Remember the accent only on the 'nosotros' form: alegrábamos.
Example Sentences
El payaso siempre alegraba a los pacientes.
The clown always used to cheer up the patients.
él/ella/usted
De niño, tú alegrabas a todos con tus bailes.
As a child, you cheered everyone up with your dances.
tú
Nosotros alegrábamos las cenas con historias.
We used to brighten up the dinners with stories.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite for habitual actions.
Correct: alegraba
Why: If it was a recurring habit in the past, the imperfect 'alegraba' is required over the preterite 'alegró'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'alegrar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: alegro
Alegrar is regular in the present: alegro, alegras, alegra, alegramos, alegráis, alegran.
Preterite
yo: alegré
The preterite of alegrar follows the standard -ar pattern: alegré, alegraste, alegró, alegramos, alegrasteis, alegraron.
Future
yo: alegraré
The future of alegrar adds endings to the infinitive: alegraré, alegrarás, alegrará, alegraremos, alegraréis, alegrarán.
Conditional
yo: alegraría
The conditional of alegrar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: alegraría, alegrarías, alegraría, alegraríamos, alegraríais, alegrarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: alegre
The present subjunctive of alegrar uses 'e' endings: alegre, alegres, alegre, alegremos, alegréis, alegren.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: alegrara
The imperfect subjunctive of alegrar uses the -ra endings: alegrara, alegraras, alegrara, alegráramos, alegrarais, alegraran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: alegra
The imperative of alegrar provides commands: alegra (tú), alegrad (vosotros), alegre (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no alegres
The negative imperative of alegrar uses the present subjunctive: no alegres, no alegre, no alegremos, no alegréis, no alegren.