contratar Imperfect Conjugation
contratar — to hire
The imperfect of contratar is regular: contrataba, contratabas, contrataba, contratábamos, contratabais, contrataban.
contratar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for ongoing hiring processes in the past or to describe a company's past hiring habits (e.g., 'They used to hire many interns').
Notes on contratar in the Imperfect
Contratar follows the standard -aba ending pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Antes contratábamos a más personal.
We used to hire more staff before.
nosotros
Él contrataba músicos para sus fiestas.
He used to hire musicians for his parties.
él/ella/usted
Las agencias contrataban a modelos jóvenes.
The agencies were hiring young models.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the nosotros form.
Correct: contratábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'á' in the 'nosotros' form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: contrato
The present tense of contratar is regular: contrato, contratas, contrata, contratamos, contratáis, contratan.
Preterite
yo: contraté
The preterite of contratar is regular: contraté, contrataste, contrató, contratamos, contratasteis, contrataron.
Future
yo: contrataré
The future of contratar is regular: contrataré, contratarás, contratará, contrataremos, contrataréis, contratarán.
Conditional
yo: contrataría
The conditional of contratar is regular: contrataría, contratarías, contrataría, contrataríamos, contrataríais, contratarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: contrate
The present subjunctive of contratar is regular: contrate, contrates, contrate, contratemos, contratéis, contraten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: contratara
The imperfect subjunctive of contratar uses the -ra endings: contratara, contrataras, contratara, contratáramos, contratarais, contrataran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: contrata
The affirmative imperative commands are: contrata (tú), contrate (usted), contratad (vosotros), contraten (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no contrates
The negative imperative uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no contrates, no contrate, no contratemos, no contratéis, no contraten.