defraudar Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect of 'defraudar' to describe a situation in the past where disappointment was ongoing, habitual, or setting the background scene. For example, 'He used to disappoint me all the time' (Él me defraudaba siempre) or 'The constant delays were disappointing' (Las demoras constantes defraudaban).

Notes on defraudar in the Imperfect

Defraudar is regular in the imperfect tense. The endings are standard for -ar verbs.

Example Sentences

• Cuando era joven, mis padres me defraudaban mucho.

  When I was young, my parents disappointed me a lot.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

• Antes, siempre me defraudaba la falta de organización.

  Before, the lack of organization always disappointed me.

  él/ella/usted

• Tú me defraudabas con tu impuntualidad.

  You used to disappoint me with your lateness.

  tú

• Nosotros defraudábamos a la gente con promesas falsas.

  We used to let people down with false promises.

  nosotros

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite 'defraudó' when describing a continuous or habitual past disappointment.

  Correct: Use 'defraudaba' for ongoing or repeated disappointment in the past.

  Why: The imperfect describes background actions, habits, and ongoing states, whereas the preterite describes completed actions.

• Mistake: Incorrectly applying stem changes that don't exist in this tense.

  Correct: Defraudar is regular; the forms are defraudaba, defraudabas, defraudaba, defraudábamos, defraudabais, defraudaban.

  Why: Learners sometimes mistakenly apply stem changes from other tenses or verbs to regular verbs.

Related Tenses