curar Imperfect Conjugation
curar — to cure
The imperfect of curar is regular: curaba, curabas, curábamos, curabais, curaban.
curar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, or to describe background settings. For 'curar', think 'The doctor used to cure people' or 'While he was curing the patient, the phone rang'.
Notes on curar in the Imperfect
Curar is regular in the imperfect tense. The stem is 'curab-' and the standard imperfect endings are added (-a, -as, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -an).
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, mi abuela me curaba con hierbas.
When I was a child, my grandmother used to cure me with herbs.
Tú curabas la tos de tu hermano con miel.
You used to cure your brother's cough with honey.
tú
El médico curaba a los enfermos del pueblo.
The doctor used to cure the town's sick people.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros curábamos las heridas de guerra.
We used to cure the war wounds.
nosotros
Ellos curaban la fiebre con paños fríos.
They used to cure the fever with cold cloths.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual past actions, e.g., 'Mi abuela curó me siempre'.
Correct: Use the imperfect for habitual actions: 'Mi abuela me curaba siempre'.
Why: The imperfect describes repeated or ongoing past actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Confusing the nosotros and vosotros forms, e.g., 'Nosotros curabais'.
Correct: The correct forms are 'curábamos' (nosotros) and 'curabais' (vosotros).
Why: These are distinct endings for the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: curo
The present indicative of curar is regular: curo, curas, cura, curamos, curáis, curan.
Preterite
yo: curé
The preterite of curar is regular: curé, curaste, curó, curamos, curasteis, curaron.
Future
yo: curaré
The future of curar is regular: curaré, curarás, curará, curaremos, curaréis, curarán.
Conditional
yo: curaría
The conditional of curar is regular: curaría, curarías, curaría, curaríamos, curaríais, curarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cure
The present subjunctive of curar is regular: cure, cures, curemos, curéis, curen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: curara
The imperfect subjunctive of curar uses -ra or -se endings: curara, curaras, curáramos, curaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cura
The imperative of curar is regular: cura, cure, curemos, curad, curen.
Negative Imperative
yo: no cures
The negative imperative of curar uses the present subjunctive: no cures, no cure, no curemos, no curéis, no curen.