aprobar Imperfect Conjugation
aprobar — to pass
Aprobar is regular in the imperfect: aprobaba, aprobabas, aprobaba, aprobábamos, aprobabais, aprobaban.
aprobar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a habitual action (passing all your classes in high school) or an ongoing state of approval in the past.
Notes on aprobar in the Imperfect
This tense is regular. It uses the standard -aba endings for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Antes, yo aprobaba todo sin estudiar mucho.
Before, I used to pass everything without studying much.
yo
El profesor no aprobaba a nadie en ese curso.
The teacher wouldn't pass anyone in that course.
él/ella/usted
En esa época, aprobábamos las leyes por consenso.
In those days, we used to approve laws by consensus.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'aprobábamos'.
Correct: aprobábamos
Why: All 'nosotros' forms in the imperfect indicative for -ar verbs require an accent on the first 'a' of the ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: apruebo
Aprobar is an o-to-ue stem-changer in the present: apruebo, apruebas, aprueba, aprobamos, aprobáis, aprueban.
Preterite
yo: aprobé
Aprobar is completely regular in the preterite: aprobé, aprobaste, aprobó, aprobamos, aprobasteis, aprobaron.
Future
yo: aprobaré
The future of aprobar is regular: aprobaré, aprobarás, aprobará, aprobaremos, aprobaréis, aprobarán.
Conditional
yo: aprobaría
The conditional of aprobar is regular: aprobaría, aprobarías, aprobaría, aprobaríamos, aprobaríais, aprobarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: apruebe
The present subjunctive follows the o-to-ue stem change: apruebe, apruebes, apruebe, aprobemos, aprobéis, aprueben.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: aprobara
The imperfect subjunctive of aprobar is regular: aprobara, aprobaras, aprobara, aprobáramos, aprobarais, aprobaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: aprueba
The imperative uses the stem change for most forms: aprueba (tú), apruebe (usted), aprobemos (nosotros), aprobad (vosotros), aprueben (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no apruebes
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no apruebes, no apruebe, no aprobemos, no aprobéis, no aprueben.