batir Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect of 'batir' to describe actions that were happening repeatedly or continuously in the past, or to set the scene. For instance, 'My mom always whisked the sauce while cooking' or 'He was whisking eggs when the phone rang'.

Notes on batir in the Imperfect

'Batir' is regular in the imperfect indicative tense. The conjugations are formed by taking the stem 'bati-' and adding the standard imperfect endings for -ir verbs.

Example Sentences

• Cuando era niño, mi abuelo batía el chocolate cada mañana.

  When I was a child, my grandfather whisked chocolate every morning.

  él/ella/usted

• Yo batía la crema cuando sonó el teléfono.

  I was whisking the cream when the phone rang.

  yo

• ¿Tú batías mucho las claras para los pasteles?

  Did you often whisk the egg whites for the cakes?

  tú

• Ellos batían la mezcla lentamente.

  They were whisking the mixture slowly.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite 'batió' for a habitual past action.

  Correct: For habits like 'He always whisked...', use 'Él batía...', not 'Él batió...'.

  Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past, while the preterite describes single, completed events.

• Mistake: Confusing the imperfect 'batía' (yo/él/ella/usted) with 'batías' (tú).

  Correct: Ensure you use the correct ending for the subject: 'batía' for yo/él/ella/usted and 'batías' for tú.

  Why: These are distinct forms and must match the subject of the sentence.

Related Tenses