caber Imperfect Conjugation
caber — to fit
Caber is completely regular in the imperfect: cabía, cabías, cabía, cabíamos, cabíais, cabían.
caber Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe the capacity of things in the past or to say something 'used to fit' habitually.
Notes on caber in the Imperfect
This verb is 100% regular in the imperfect. No 'qu' or 'cup' stems here.
Example Sentences
Antes cabía en estos pantalones.
I used to fit in these pants.
yo
En la antigua sala cabían cien personas.
A hundred people used to fit in the old room.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'cupía' instead of 'cabía'.
Correct: cabía
Why: Learners often over-apply the irregular preterite stem 'cup-' to other past tenses.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: quepo
Caber is irregular only in the 'yo' form (quepo); all other forms follow the regular -er pattern.
Preterite
yo: cupe
Caber is highly irregular in the preterite, using the stem 'cup-' for all persons.
Future
yo: cabré
The future tense of caber uses the irregular stem 'cabr-'.
Conditional
yo: cabría
The conditional uses the same irregular stem as the future: 'cabr-'.
Present Subjunctive
yo: quepa
The present subjunctive is based on the irregular 'yo' form, using the stem 'quep-'.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cupiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the irregular preterite stem 'cup-'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cabe
The imperative uses 'cabe' for 'tú' but switches to 'quep-' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no quepas
Negative commands for caber always use the 'quep-' stem from the present subjunctive.