comprar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
comprar — to buy
The imperfect subjunctive of comprar is built from the preterite stem: comprara, compraras, comprara, compráramos, comprarais, compraran.
comprar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical 'if' situations regarding buying, or when a request to buy something was made in the past.
Notes on comprar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
Comprar is regular here. The 'nosotros' form (compráramos) always requires an accent on the third-to-last syllable.
Example Sentences
Si yo comprara menos ropa, ahorraría más.
If I bought fewer clothes, I would save more.
yo
Me pidieron que comprara el pan.
They asked me to buy the bread.
él/ella/usted
Si nosotros compráramos el terreno, construiríamos una casa.
If we bought the land, we would build a house.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: comprarais without an 'i'
Correct: comprarais
Why: The vosotros form in the imperfect subjunctive is often confused with the preterite 'comprasteis'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: compro
Comprar is a regular -ar verb in the present: compro, compras, compra, compramos, compráis, compran.
Preterite
yo: compré
The preterite of comprar is regular: compré, compraste, compró, compramos, comprasteis, compraron.
Imperfect
yo: compraba
The imperfect of comprar uses the regular -aba endings: compraba, comprabas, compraba, comprábamos, comprabais, compraban.
Future
yo: compraré
The future of comprar is formed by adding endings to the infinitive: compraré, comprarás, comprará, compraremos, compraréis, comprarán.
Conditional
yo: compraría
The conditional of comprar is regular: compraría, comprarías, compraría, compraríamos, compraríais, comprarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: compre
The present subjunctive of comprar uses -e endings: compre, compres, compre, compremos, compréis, compren.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: compra
The imperative of comprar gives commands: compra (tú), compre (usted), compremos, comprad (vosotros), compren.
Negative Imperative
yo: no compres
The negative imperative of comprar uses the present subjunctive: no compres, no compre, no compremos, no compréis, no compren.