contraer Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
contraer — to contract
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'j' stem: contrajera, contrajeras, contrajera.
contraer Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical 'if' situations or past requests, such as 'If I caught a cold...'.
Notes on contraer in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is derived from the preterite 'ellos' form (contrajeron). It uses the 'contraj-' stem and never has an 'i' after the 'j'.
Example Sentences
Si yo contrajera esa enfermedad, estaría muy preocupado.
If I were to catch that disease, I would be very worried.
yo
Me gustaría que ellos contrajeran menos deudas.
I would like them to take on fewer debts.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Si el metal se contrajera más, se rompería.
If the metal contracted more, it would break.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'contraiera'.
Correct: The correct stem is 'contrajera'.
Why: This tense always follows the preterite stem, which is irregular for contraer.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: contraigo
The present tense of contraer is irregular in the 'yo' form (contraigo), but follows regular -er patterns for the rest.
Preterite
yo: contraje
The preterite of contraer is highly irregular, using a 'j' stem: contraje, contrajiste, contrajo.
Imperfect
yo: contraía
The imperfect of contraer is completely regular: contraía, contraías, contraía.
Future
yo: contraeré
The future tense of contraer is regular: contraeré, contraerás, contraerá.
Conditional
yo: contraería
The conditional of contraer is regular: contraería, contraerías, contraería.
Present Subjunctive
yo: contraiga
The present subjunctive uses the 'contraig-' stem: contraiga, contraigas, contraiga.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: contrae
The imperative uses 'contrae' for informal 'tú' and 'contraiga' for formal 'usted'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no contraigas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no contraigas, no contraiga.