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atribuir Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation

atribuir — to attribute

B2irregular spelling change -ir★★★
Quick answer:

The imperfect subjunctive of atribuir uses the 'y' from the preterite: atribuyera, atribuyeras, atribuyera, atribuyéramos, atribuyerais, atribuyeran.

atribuir Imperfect Subjunctive Forms

yoatribuyera
túatribuyeras
él/ella/ustedatribuyera
nosotrosatribuyéramos
vosotrosatribuyerais
ellos/ellas/ustedesatribuyeran

When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive

Use this for hypothetical situations in the past or after 'if' clauses (e.g., 'If I attributed this to him...').

Notes on atribuir in the Imperfect Subjunctive

This tense is built from the third-person plural preterite (atribuyeron). Since that form has a 'y', the entire imperfect subjunctive maintains that 'y'.

Example Sentences

  • Si yo le atribuyera el mérito, él se alegraría.

    If I were to attribute the merit to him, he would be happy.

    yo

  • Dudaba que ellos atribuyeran el fallo al motor.

    I doubted that they would attribute the failure to the engine.

    ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

  • Mistake: atribuiera

    Correct: atribuyera

    Why: The 'i' must change to 'y' because it follows the pattern of the preterite third-person.

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Related Tenses

Present

yo: atribuyo

The present of atribuir adds a 'y' before endings, except for nosotros and vosotros: atribuyo, atribuyes, atribuye, atribuyen.

Preterite

yo: atribuí

In the preterite, atribuir changes 'i' to 'y' in the third-person forms: atribuyó and atribuyeron.

Imperfect

yo: atribuía

The imperfect of atribuir is regular: atribuía, atribuías, atribuía, atribuíamos, atribuíais, atribuían.

Future

yo: atribuiré

The future of atribuir is regular: atribuiré, atribuirás, atribuirá, atribuiremos, atribuiréis, atribuirán.

Conditional

yo: atribuiría

The conditional of atribuir is regular: atribuiría, atribuirías, atribuiría, atribuiríamos, atribuiríais, atribuirían.

Present Subjunctive

yo: atribuya

The present subjunctive of atribuir inserts a 'y' in all forms: atribuya, atribuyas, atribuya, atribuyamos, atribuyáis, atribuyan.

Affirmative Imperative

yo: atribuye

Commands for atribuir use 'atribuye' (tú) and 'atribuya' (usted), following the 'y' spelling change.

Negative Imperative

yo: no atribuyas

Negative commands for atribuir always use the 'y': no atribuyas, no atribuya, no atribuyamos, no atribuyáis, no atribuyan.