contrarrestar Imperfect Conjugation
contrarrestar — to counteract
Use contrarrestaba, contrarrestabas, contrarrestaba, contrarrestábamos, contrarrestabais, contrarrestaban for ongoing or habitual past actions.
contrarrestar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
The imperfect is for describing ongoing actions in the past, habitual actions, or setting the scene. You'd use it to describe how someone *used to* counteract a problem regularly, or what was happening when something else occurred.
Notes on contrarrestar in the Imperfect
Contrarrestar is a regular -ar verb and is regular in the imperfect tense.
Example Sentences
Cuando era joven, contrarrestaba el aburrimiento leyendo.
When I was young, I used to counteract boredom by reading.
yo
Tú contrarrestabas la presión del equipo con calma.
You used to counteract the team's pressure with calm.
tú
El gobierno contrarrestaba la crisis con medidas económicas.
The government was counteracting the crisis with economic measures.
él/ella/usted
Ellos contrarrestaban la fatiga durmiendo bien.
They counteracted fatigue by sleeping well.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for a past habit.
Correct: Use 'contrarrestaba' (imperfect) to describe a past habit, like 'I used to counteract'.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past, whereas the preterite describes a single completed action.
Mistake: Confusing the nosotros imperfect form.
Correct: The correct nosotros form is 'contrarrestábamos'.
Why: Remember to keep the 'a' from the infinitive and add the imperfect ending '-ábamos'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'contrarrestar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: contrarresto
Use contrarresto, contrarrestas, contrarresta, contrarrestamos, contrarrestáis, contrarrestan for actions happening now or habitually.
Preterite
yo: contrarresté
The preterite of contrarrestar is regular: contrarreste, contrarrestaste, contrarrestó, contrarrestamos, contrarrestasteis, contrarrestaron.
Future
yo: contrarrestaré
Use contrarrestaré, contrarrestarás, contrarrestará, contrarrestaremos, contrarrestaréis, contrarrestarán for future actions.
Conditional
yo: contrarrestaría
Use contrarrestaría, contrarrestarías, contrarrestaría, contrarrestaríamos, contrarrestaríais, contrarrestarían for hypotheticals ('would').
Present Subjunctive
yo: contrarreste
Use contrarreste, contrarrestes, contrarrestemos, contrarresten for wishes, doubts, emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: contrarrestara
Use contrarrestara/contrarrestase forms for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: contrarresta
Use contrarresta, contrarreste, contrarrestemos, contrarresten, contrarrestad for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no contrarrestes
Use 'no contrarrestes', 'no contrarreste', 'no contrarrestemos', 'no contrarresten', 'no contrarrestéis' for negative commands.