desbordar Imperfect Conjugation
desbordar — to overflow
The imperfect 'desbordaba' describes ongoing or habitual past actions, like 'the river was overflowing'.
desbordar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for descriptions in the past, ongoing actions, or habitual actions. For 'desbordar', you might say 'El río desbordaba a menudo en esa zona' (The river often overflowed in that area) or 'Mientras cocinaba, el agua desbordaba de la olla' (While I was cooking, the water was overflowing from the pot).
Notes on desbordar in the Imperfect
Desbordar is regular in the imperfect indicative. All forms follow the standard pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, el río desbordaba cada año.
When I was a child, the river overflowed every year.
él/ella/usted
Yo desbordaba ilusión por el nuevo proyecto.
I was overflowing with excitement for the new project.
yo
¿Tú desbordabas de alegría?
Were you overflowing with joy?
tú
Ellos desbordaban confianza.
They were overflowing with confidence.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single, completed past action.
Correct: For a specific event like 'The dam broke', use the preterite: 'La presa se desbordó'. The imperfect 'se desbordaba' implies it was ongoing or habitual.
Why: The imperfect describes background or ongoing actions, while the preterite describes completed events.
Mistake: Confusing the yo and él/ella/usted forms.
Correct: Both 'desbordaba' (yo) and 'desbordaba' (él/ella/usted) are the same. Context determines who is speaking.
Why: In the imperfect tense, the yo and él/ella/usted forms are identical for regular -ar verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: desbordo
The present tense 'desbordo', 'desbordas', 'desborda', etc., describes ongoing actions, habits, or general truths.
Preterite
yo: desbordé
The preterite of desbordar is regular: desbordé, desbordaste, desbordó, desbordamos, desbordasteis, desbordaron.
Future
yo: desbordaré
The future tense 'desbordaré', 'desbordarás', etc., talks about what will happen.
Conditional
yo: desbordaría
The conditional 'desbordaría', 'desbordarías', etc., is used for hypotheticals ('would') and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: desborde
The present subjunctive, like 'desborde' (él/ella/usted) or 'desbordes' (tú), expresses wishes, doubts, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: desbordara
The imperfect subjunctive, like 'desbordara' or 'desbordase', is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: desborda
Use imperative forms like 'desborda' (tú) for direct commands, 'desborden' (ustedes) for plural polite commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no desbordes
Use 'no' plus the present subjunctive, like 'no desbordes' (tú) or 'no desborden' (ustedes), for negative commands.