denominar Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect of 'denominar' to describe how things used to be named habitually in the past, or to set the scene by describing what was being called something. For example, 'Back then, they used to name every child after their grandfather' or 'The place was called the old mill'.

Notes on denominar in the Imperfect

Denominar is regular in the imperfect indicative. The conjugation follows the standard pattern for -ar verbs in this tense.

Example Sentences

• Antes, yo denominaba 'mi tesoro' a cualquier cosa que encontraba.

  Before, I used to call anything I found 'my treasure'.

  yo

• ¿Tú denominabas esa montaña 'El Gigante Dormido'?

  Did you used to call that mountain 'The Sleeping Giant'?

  tú

• El edificio se denominaba 'La Casa Blanca' por su color.

  The building was called 'The White House' because of its color.

  él/ella/usted

• En mi infancia, nosotros denominábamos 'aventura' a cualquier salida al campo.

  In my childhood, we used to call any outing to the countryside an 'adventure'.

  nosotros

• Ellos denominaban la zona 'El Jardín Olvidado'.

  They used to call the area 'The Forgotten Garden'.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for descriptions or habits.

  Correct: Use 'denominaba' or 'denominaban' for past descriptions or routines, not 'denominó' or 'denominaron'.

  Why: The imperfect describes ongoing states or repeated actions in the past, fitting for descriptions and habits, while the preterite marks completed events.

• Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'nosotros' and 'vosotros' forms.

  Correct: The forms are 'denominábamos' and 'denominabais', with accents on the 'a'.

  Why: These accents are necessary to indicate the correct stress in these imperfect forms.

Related Tenses