coger Imperfect Conjugation
coger — to take
The imperfect of coger is regular: cogía, cogías, cogía, cogíamos, cogíais, cogían.
coger Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for repeated past actions (habitual 'taking') or to describe what was happening when something else interrupted.
Notes on coger in the Imperfect
Coger is completely regular in the imperfect. All forms use the 'g' because it is followed by 'i'.
Example Sentences
De niño, cogía el autobús escolar todos los días.
As a child, I used to take the school bus every day.
yo
Nosotros cogíamos flores en el campo.
We were picking flowers in the field.
nosotros
Ella cogía el teléfono cuando yo entré.
She was picking up the phone when I entered.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent mark on the 'í'.
Correct: All imperfect forms of -er verbs require an accent: cogía, cogíamos.
Why: The accent is necessary to show the stress is on the 'i' and not the preceding syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cojo
Coger is irregular in the 'yo' form (cojo) but regular for all other persons.
Preterite
yo: cogí
The preterite of coger is regular: cogí, cogiste, cogió, cogimos, cogisteis, cogieron.
Future
yo: cogeré
The future tense of coger is regular: cogeré, cogerás, cogerá, cogeremos, cogeréis, cogerán.
Conditional
yo: cogería
The conditional of coger is regular: cogería, cogerías, cogería, cogeríamos, cogeríais, cogerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: coja
The present subjunctive of coger uses 'j' in all forms: coja, cojas, coja, cojamos, cojáis, cojan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cogiera
The imperfect subjunctive of coger is regular based on the preterite: cogiera, cogieras, cogiera, cogiéramos, cogierais, cogieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: coge
The imperative of coger uses 'g' for 'tú' (coge) and 'j' for 'usted' (coja).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cojas
The negative imperative of coger always uses 'j': no cojas, no coja, no cojamos, no cojáis, no cojan.