capacitar Imperfect Conjugation
capacitar — to train
The imperfect of capacitar (capacitaba, capacitabas, capacitaba, capacitábamos, capacitabais, capacitaban) describes ongoing or habitual past training.
capacitar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense to describe past actions of training that were ongoing, habitual, or setting the scene. It's for describing the background or routine of training in the past.
Notes on capacitar in the Imperfect
Capacitar is regular in the imperfect tense, following the standard -aba endings for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo capacitaba a los becarios todos los veranos.
I used to train the interns every summer.
yo
¿Tú capacitabas a alguien cuando trabajabas allí?
Were you training anyone when you worked there?
tú
Él capacitaba a los nuevos supervisores durante meses.
He would train the new supervisors for months.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros nos capacitábamos mucho en esa academia.
We used to train a lot at that academy.
nosotros
Ellos capacitaban a los empleados cada año.
They trained the employees every year.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a specific, completed training event.
Correct: For a single completed action, use the preterite: 'La compañía capacitó al personal' (The company trained the staff).
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'capacitábamos' (nosotros).
Correct: The nosotros form needs an accent: 'capacitábamos'.
Why: The accent marks the stressed syllable, which is necessary for correct pronunciation and spelling.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: capacito
The present tense of capacitar (capacíto, capacitas, capacita, capacitamos, capacitáis, capacitan) describes current or habitual training.
Preterite
yo: capacité
The preterite of capacitar is regular: capacité, capacitaste, capacitó, capacitamos, capacitasteis, capacitaron.
Future
yo: capacitaré
The future tense of capacitar (capacitaré, capacitarás, capacitará, capacitaremos, capacitaréis, capacitarán) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: capacitaría
The conditional of capacitar (capacitaría, capacitarías, capacitaría, capacitaríamos, capacitaríais, capacitarían) expresses hypothetical actions or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: capacite
The present subjunctive of capacitar (capacíte, capacites, capacite, capacitemos, capacitéis, capaciten) is used after wishes, doubts, emotions, and certain commands.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: capacitara
The imperfect subjunctive of capacitar (capacitara/capacitase) expresses hypothetical situations or wishes in the past.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: capacita
Use 'capacita' (tú), 'capacite' (usted), 'capacitemos' (nosotros), 'capaciten' (ustedes), 'capacitad' (vosotros) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no capacites
Use 'no capacites' (tú), 'no capacite' (usted), 'no capacitemos' (nosotros), 'no capaciten' (ustedes), 'no capacitéis' (vosotros) for negative commands.