atener Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use this to describe a past habit of following rules or an ongoing state of abiding by something.

Notes on atener in the Imperfect

This tense is fully regular for -er verbs. Simply add the -ía endings to the stem 'aten-'.

Example Sentences

• Antes, siempre me atenía a las normas.

  Before, I always used to abide by the rules.

  yo

• Ellos se atenían a su propia lógica.

  They were sticking to their own logic.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

• Nos ateníamos a lo que era posible en ese entonces.

  We were abiding by what was possible back then.

  nosotros

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Adding a 'g' (atengía).

  Correct: The form is 'atenía'.

  Why: The 'g' only appears in the present indicative 'yo' form and the present subjunctive.

Related Tenses