decaer Imperfect Conjugation
decaer — to decline
The imperfect of decaer is regular for -er verbs: decaía, decaías, decaía, decaíamos, decaíais, decaían.
decaer Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe a gradual decline that was happening in the past or a state of being in decline over time.
Notes on decaer in the Imperfect
Decaer is regular in the imperfect. Note the accent on the 'í' in all forms.
Example Sentences
El imperio decaía poco a poco.
The empire was declining little by little.
él/ella/usted
Sentía que mis ánimos decaían cada tarde.
I felt that my spirits were flagging every afternoon.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Cuando éramos jóvenes, nunca decaíamos.
When we were young, we never grew weak.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Omitting the accent (decaia).
Correct: decaía
Why: All -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'i' to separate the vowels into two syllables.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'decaer' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: decaigo
The present of decaer is mostly regular, except for the 'yo' form: decaigo.
Preterite
yo: decaí
The preterite of decaer features a 'y' in the third person: decaí, decaíste, decayó, decaímos, decaísteis, decayeron.
Future
yo: decaeré
The future of decaer is regular: decaeré, decaerás, decaerá, decaeremos, decaeréis, decaerán.
Conditional
yo: decaería
The conditional of decaer is regular: decaería, decaerías, decaería, decaeríamos, decaeríais, decaerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: decaiga
The present subjunctive of decaer adds a 'g' to the stem: decaiga, decaigas, decaiga, decaigamos, decaigáis, decaigan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: decayera
The imperfect subjunctive of decaer uses the 'y' stem: decayera, decayeras, decayéramos.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: decae
The imperative of decaer uses the 'g' stem for formal commands: decae, decaiga, decaigamos, decaed, decaigan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no decaigas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no decaigas, no decaiga, no decaigamos, no decaigáis, no decaigan.