collar Imperfect Conjugation
collar — to collar
The imperfect tense of collar: collaba, collabas, collaba, collábamos, collabais, collaban.
collar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense of 'collar' to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past, or to set the scene. For example, 'He used to collar the stray dogs every day'.
Notes on collar in the Imperfect
Collar is regular in the imperfect tense. All forms are standard for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, yo collaba a los pájaros con una red.
When I was a child, I used to collar birds with a net.
yo
¿Tú collabas a los gatos del vecindario?
Did you used to collar the neighborhood cats?
tú
El guardia collaba a los visitantes que no tenían pase.
The guard used to collar visitors who didn't have a pass.
él/ella/usted
Ellos collaban a los toros en las corridas.
They used to collar the bulls in the bullfights.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for ongoing past actions.
Correct: For descriptions or repeated actions in the past, use the imperfect forms like 'collaba'.
Why: The preterite is for completed actions, while the imperfect describes the background or continuity.
Mistake: Confusing the nosotros imperfect and preterite forms.
Correct: The imperfect nosotros is 'collábamos', while the preterite nosotros is 'collamos'.
Why: These are distinct tenses with different meanings but similar spellings.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'collar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: collo
The present tense of collar: collo, collas, colla, collamos, colláis, collan.
Preterite
yo: collé
The preterite of collar: collé, collaste, colló, collamos, collasteis, collaron.
Future
yo: collaré
The future tense of collar: collaré, collarás, collará, collarémos, collaréis, collarán.
Conditional
yo: collaría
The conditional tense of collar: collaría, collarías, collaría, collaríamos, collaríais, collarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: colle
The present subjunctive of collar: colle, colles, colle, collemos, colléis, collen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: collara
The imperfect subjunctive of collar (-ra or -se): collara, collaras, collara, colláramos, collarais, collaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: colla
Collar in the imperative mood: colla (tú), colle (usted), collad (vosotros), collemos (nosotros), collen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no colles
Negative commands for collar: no colles (tú), no colle (usted), no colléis (vosotros), no collemos (nosotros), no collen (ustedes).