desalojar Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect for describing ongoing actions in the past ('They were evicting the building') or habitual actions ('He used to evict tenants every year'). It sets the scene or describes background conditions.

Notes on desalojar in the Imperfect

Desalojar is regular in the imperfect indicative tense. The forms are predictable based on the infinitive stem and standard -ar imperfect endings.

Example Sentences

• Cuando era joven, desalojaba a los intrusos de mi propiedad.

  When I was young, I used to evict trespassers from my property.

  yo

• Mientras la policía desalojaba el edificio, los vecinos observaban.

  While the police were evicting the building, the neighbors watched.

  él/ella/usted

• Antes, desalojábamos a los inquilinos sin pensarlo dos veces.

  Before, we used to evict tenants without thinking twice.

  nosotros

• Ellos desalojaban la casa cada vez que había una fiesta.

  They used to vacate the house every time there was a party.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite 'desalojó' for a past habit.

  Correct: For past habits or ongoing actions, use the imperfect: 'desalojaba'.

  Why: The imperfect describes continuous or repeated actions in the past, whereas the preterite marks a single, completed event.

• Mistake: Confusing the imperfect 'desalojaba' (yo) with the imperfect subjunctive 'desalojara' (yo).

  Correct: For descriptions of past actions, use 'desalojaba'; for hypotheticals, use 'desalojara'.

  Why: These are distinct tenses with different uses: indicative for facts, subjunctive for non-facts.

Related Tenses