buscar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
buscar — to look for
The imperfect subjunctive of buscar is regular: buscara, buscaras, buscara, buscáramos, buscarais, buscaran.
buscar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this in 'if' clauses (e.g., 'If I looked for it...') or when the main verb is in the past and requires the subjunctive.
Notes on buscar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is regular for buscar. It is built from the third-person plural preterite (buscaron), dropping the -on and adding the -a endings.
Example Sentences
Si yo buscara más, encontraría más.
If I looked more, I would find more.
yo
Me pidió que buscara sus gafas.
He asked me to look for his glasses.
él/ella/usted
Si buscáramos juntos, sería más fácil.
If we looked together, it would be easier.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: busquara
Correct: buscara
Why: Learners often over-apply the 'qu' change. Since the ending starts with 'a', the 'c' naturally stays hard, so no 'qu' is needed.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: busco
The present tense of buscar is completely regular: busco, buscas, busca, buscamos, buscáis, buscan.
Preterite
yo: busqué
The preterite of buscar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (busqué) to keep the 'k' sound.
Imperfect
yo: buscaba
The imperfect of buscar is regular: buscaba, buscabas, buscaba, buscábamos, buscabais, buscaban.
Future
yo: buscaré
The future tense of buscar is regular: add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: buscaría
The conditional of buscar is regular: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive.
Present Subjunctive
yo: busque
The present subjunctive of buscar uses the 'qu' spelling change: busque, busques, busque, busquemos, busquéis, busquen.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: busca
The imperative of buscar uses 'busca' (tú) and 'busque' (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no busques
The negative imperative always uses the 'qu' spelling: no busques, no busque, no busquemos, no busquéis, no busquen.