Inklingo
A row of colorful wooden blocks perfectly aligned in a straight horizontal line on a wooden floor.

alinear Imperfect Conjugation

alinear — to align

A2regular -ar★★★★
Quick answer:

Imperfect for alinear: alineaba (yo/él/ella/usted), alineabas (tú), alineábamos (nosotros), alineabais (vosotros), alineaban (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

alinear Imperfect Forms

yoalineaba
túalineabas
él/ella/ustedalineaba
nosotrosalineábamos
vosotrosalineabais
ellos/ellas/ustedesalineaban

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect tense to describe ongoing or habitual actions of aligning in the past, or to set the scene. Think 'used to align' or 'was aligning'.

Notes on alinear in the Imperfect

Alinear is regular in the imperfect tense. The endings are standard for -ar verbs: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban.

Example Sentences

  • Yo alineaba los soldados cada mañana.

    I used to align the soldiers every morning.

    yo

  • Tú alineabas las piezas del rompecabezas.

    You were aligning the puzzle pieces.

    tú

  • Ella alineaba su mirada con la cámara.

    She was aligning her gaze with the camera.

    él/ella/usted

  • Nosotros alineábamos los planetas en nuestros dibujos.

    We used to align the planets in our drawings.

    nosotros

  • Ellos alineaban sus coches en el garaje.

    They were aligning their cars in the garage.

    ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

  • Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for ongoing past actions.

    Correct: Use 'alineaba' for a continuous past action, not 'alineó'.

    Why: The imperfect describes background or habitual actions, while the preterite describes completed events.

  • Mistake: Confusing the yo and él/ella/usted forms.

    Correct: Both 'alineaba' (yo) and 'alineaba' (él/ella/usted) are identical.

    Why: Context and subject pronouns are needed to differentiate these forms.

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Related Tenses

Present

yo: alineo

Present for alinear: alineo (yo), alineas (tú), alinea (él/ella/usted), alineamos (nosotros), alineáis (vosotros), alinean (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Preterite

yo: alineé

Preterite for alinear: alineé (yo), alineaste (tú), alineó (él/ella/usted), alineamos (nosotros), alineasteis (vosotros), alinearon (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Future

yo: alinearé

Future for alinear: alinearé (yo), alinearás (tú), alineará (él/ella/usted), alinearemos (nosotros), alinearéis (vosotros), alinearán (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Conditional

yo: alinearía

Conditional for alinear: alinearía (yo/él/ella/usted), alinearías (tú), alinearíamos (nosotros), alinearíais (vosotros), alinearían (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Present Subjunctive

yo: alinee

Present subjunctive for alinear: alinee (yo/él/ella/usted), alinees (tú), alineemos (nosotros), alineéis (vosotros), alineen (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Imperfect Subjunctive

yo: alineara

Past subjunctive for alinear: alineara/alinease (yo/él/ella/usted), alinearas/alineases (tú), alineáramos/alineásemos (nosotros), alinearais/alineaseis (vosotros), alinearan/alineasen (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Affirmative Imperative

yo: alinea

Imperative commands for alinear: alinea (tú), alinee (usted), alineemos (nosotros), alíneen (ustedes), alínead (vosotros).

Negative Imperative

yo: no alinees

Negative commands for alinear: no alinees (tú), no alinee (usted), no alineemos (nosotros), no alineen (ustedes), no alineéis (vosotros).