alimentar Present Conjugation
alimentar — to feed
Alimentar is regular in the present: alimento, alimentas, alimenta, alimentamos, alimentáis, alimentan.
alimentar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about daily feeding routines, such as feeding a pet or maintaining a specific diet. It is also used for general facts about what animals or humans eat.
Notes on alimentar in the Present
Alimentar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present tense; it follows the standard pattern without any stem changes.
Example Sentences
Yo alimento a mis gatos dos veces al día.
I feed my cats twice a day.
yo
Ella alimenta a su bebé con leche materna.
She feeds her baby with breast milk.
él/ella/usted
¿Alimentas tú a los peces de la oficina?
Do you feed the office fish?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'yo alimento' to mean 'I eat'.
Correct: Use 'yo como' for eating and 'yo alimento' for feeding others.
Why: Learners often confuse the transitive action of feeding someone else with the act of eating themselves.
Master Spanish verbs in context
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: alimenté
Alimentar is regular in the preterite: alimenté, alimentaste, alimentó, alimentamos, alimentasteis, alimentaron.
Imperfect
yo: alimentaba
The imperfect of alimentar follows the regular -aba pattern: alimentaba, alimentabas, alimentaba...
Future
yo: alimentaré
The future of alimentar is formed by adding endings to the infinitive: alimentaré, alimentarás, alimentará...
Conditional
yo: alimentaría
The conditional of alimentar adds -ía endings to the infinitive: alimentaría, alimentarías, alimentaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: alimente
The present subjunctive of alimentar uses -e endings: alimente, alimentes, alimente, alimentemos, alimentéis, alimenten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: alimentara
The imperfect subjunctive of alimentar uses -ara endings: alimentara, alimentaras, alimentara, alimentáramos...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: alimenta
The imperative of alimentar gives direct orders: alimenta (tú), alimentad (vosotros), alimente (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no alimentes
The negative imperative of alimentar uses 'no' + present subjunctive forms: no alimentes, no alimente, etc.