cargar Imperfect Conjugation
cargar — to carry
The imperfect of cargar is regular: cargaba, cargabas, cargaba, cargábamos, cargabais, cargaban.
cargar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a past habit (carrying a backpack to school every day) or an ongoing state (the phone was charging).
Notes on cargar in the Imperfect
Cargar is fully regular in the imperfect. Remember the accent on the 'nosotros' form.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo siempre cargaba una mochila pesada.
As a child, I always used to carry a heavy backpack.
yo
El teléfono no cargaba bien ayer.
The phone wasn't charging well yesterday.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: cargabamos
Correct: cargábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'a' in the nosotros form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cargo
Cargar is completely regular in the present tense: cargo, cargas, carga, cargamos, cargáis, cargan.
Preterite
yo: cargué
The preterite of cargar features a spelling change in the 'yo' form (cargué) to maintain the hard 'g' sound.
Future
yo: cargaré
The future of cargar is regular, formed by adding endings to the full infinitive: cargaré, cargarás, cargará...
Conditional
yo: cargaría
The conditional of cargar is regular: cargaría, cargarías, cargaría, cargaríamos, cargaríais, cargarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cargue
The present subjunctive of cargar requires a 'gu' spelling change in all forms: cargue, cargues, cargue...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cargara
The imperfect subjunctive of cargar is regular: cargara, cargaras, cargara, cargáramos, cargarais, cargaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: carga
The imperative of cargar gives direct orders: carga (tú), cargue (usted), cargad (vosotros), carguen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cargues
Negative commands for cargar always use the 'gu' spelling: no cargues, no cargue, no carguemos, no carguéis, no carguen.