cenar Imperfect Conjugation
cenar — to have dinner
The imperfect of cenar follows the standard -aba pattern: cenaba, cenabas, cenaba, cenábamos, cenabais, cenaban.
cenar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe dinner habits from your childhood or what you were eating when something else interrupted you.
Notes on cenar in the Imperfect
Cenar is regular in the imperfect. Remember to put an accent on the first 'a' in the nosotros form: cenábamos.
Example Sentences
De niño, siempre cenaba con mis abuelos.
As a child, I always had dinner with my grandparents.
yo
Cuando vivíamos en España, cenábamos a las diez.
When we lived in Spain, we used to have dinner at ten.
nosotros
Ustedes cenaban cuando sonó el teléfono.
You all were having dinner when the phone rang.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: cenabamos
Correct: cenábamos
Why: The nosotros form of -ar verbs in the imperfect always requires an accent mark.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: ceno
The present tense of cenar is regular: ceno, cenas, cena, cenamos, cenáis, cenan.
Preterite
yo: cené
The preterite of cenar is regular: cené, cenaste, cenó, cenamos, cenasteis, cenaron.
Future
yo: cenaré
The future of cenar uses the infinitive as the stem: cenaré, cenarás, cenará, cenaremos, cenaréis, cenarán.
Conditional
yo: cenaría
The conditional of cenar is regular: cenaría, cenarías, cenaría, cenaríamos, cenaríais, cenarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cene
The present subjunctive of cenar uses the -e endings: cene, cenes, cene, cenemos, cenéis, cenen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cenara
The imperfect subjunctive of cenar uses the -ara endings: cenara, cenaras, cenara, cenáramos, cenarais, cenaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cena
The imperative of cenar gives commands: cena (tú), cenad (vosotros), cene (usted), cenen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cenes
The negative imperative of cenar uses the present subjunctive: no cenes, no cene, no cenemos, no cenéis, no cenen.