arañar Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect tense to describe actions that were happening continuously in the past, or habitual actions that occurred regularly. For 'arañar', it sets the scene or describes repeated scratching, like a cat scratching itself often or scratching a door repeatedly.

Notes on arañar in the Imperfect

Arañar is regular in the imperfect tense. The stem remains 'arañ-' and the standard imperfect endings are used.

Example Sentences

• El perro arañaba la puerta porque quería salir.

  The dog was scratching the door because it wanted to go out.

  él/ella/usted

• Cuando era niño, arañaba mucho mis juguetes.

  When I was a child, I used to scratch my toys a lot.

  yo

• ¿Arañabais mucho de pequeños?

  Did you guys scratch a lot when you were little?

  vosotros

• Ellos arañaban la mesa sin parar.

  They were scratching the table non-stop.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite for ongoing or habitual past actions.

  Correct: For actions that were happening over a period or repeated, use the imperfect: 'arañaba', 'arañaban'.

  Why: The imperfect describes the background or duration, while the preterite describes a completed event.

• Mistake: Confusing the 'nosotros' form.

  Correct: The correct imperfect form is 'arañábamos'.

  Why: Remember the '-ábamos' ending for regular -ar verbs in the nosotros imperfect.

Related Tenses