caer Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
caer — to fall
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'y' from the preterite: cayera, cayeras, cayera, etc.
caer Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for 'if' clauses (e.g., 'If I fell...') or past-tense triggers of the subjunctive.
Notes on caer in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is always derived from the 3rd person plural of the preterite (cayeron), so the 'y' is consistent throughout.
Example Sentences
Si me cayera, me dolería mucho.
If I fell, it would hurt a lot.
yo
No quería que cayeras en la trampa.
I didn't want you to fall into the trap.
tú
Si cayeran más hojas, tendríamos que barrer.
If more leaves fell, we would have to sweep.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'caiera'.
Correct: cayera
Why: It follows the preterite irregularity where 'i' becomes 'y' between vowels.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: caigo
Caer is irregular only in the 'yo' form (caigo), while the rest follow normal -er patterns.
Preterite
yo: caí
Caer is irregular in the preterite, featuring a 'y' in the third-person forms (cayó, cayeron) and accents on all other endings.
Imperfect
yo: caía
Caer is regular in the imperfect: caía, caías, caía, caíamos, caíais, caían.
Future
yo: caeré
Caer is regular in the future tense: caeré, caerás, caerá, caeremos, caeréis, caerán.
Conditional
yo: caería
The conditional of caer is regular: caería, caerías, caería, caeríamos, caeríais, caerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: caiga
The present subjunctive of caer is based on the irregular 'yo' form: caiga, caigas, caiga, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cae
The imperative uses 'cae' for tú and 'caiga' for formal/plural commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no caigas
The negative imperative of caer always uses the present subjunctive forms.