atacar Imperfect Conjugation
atacar — to attack
The imperfect of atacar is regular: atacaba, atacabas, atacaba, atacábamos, atacabais, atacaban.
atacar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe ongoing attacks in the past, habitual behaviors, or to set the scene (e.g., 'The Vikings used to attack these coasts').
Notes on atacar in the Imperfect
Atacar is completely regular in the imperfect indicative.
Example Sentences
Antes, los piratas atacaban estos barcos.
Before, pirates used to attack these ships.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Yo atacaba cada vez que tenía el balón.
I used to attack every time I had the ball.
yo
Nosotros atacábamos mientras ellos defendían.
We were attacking while they were defending.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: atacabamos
Correct: atacábamos
Why: The 'nosotros' form of all -ar verbs in the imperfect requires a written accent on the first 'a' of the ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: ataco
Atacar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense: ataco, atacas, ataca, atacamos, atacáis, atacan.
Preterite
yo: ataqué
The preterite of atacar features a spelling change in the 'yo' form (ataqué) to keep the hard 'k' sound.
Future
yo: atacaré
The future of atacar is regular: just add the endings to the infinitive (atacaré, atacarás, etc.).
Conditional
yo: atacaría
The conditional of atacar is regular: atacaría, atacarías, atacaría, atacaríamos, atacaríais, atacarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ataque
The present subjunctive of atacar uses 'qu' in all forms: ataque, ataques, ataque, ataquemos, ataquéis, ataquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: atacara
The imperfect subjunctive of atacar is regular: atacara, atacaras, atacara, atacáramos, atacarais, atacaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ataca
The imperative of atacar gives direct orders: ataca (tú), atacad (vosotros), or ataque (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no ataques
Negative commands for atacar always use the 'qu' spelling: no ataques, no ataque, no ataquemos, no ataquéis, no ataquen.