despertar Imperfect Conjugation
despertar — to wake (someone) up
Despertar is regular in the imperfect: despertaba, despertabas, despertaba, despertábamos, despertabais, despertaban.
despertar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for habitual wake-ups in the past or to describe an ongoing action that was interrupted.
Notes on despertar in the Imperfect
Despertar is a regular -ar verb in the imperfect. Remember the accent on the 'á' in the nosotros form.
Example Sentences
Mi madre me despertaba con música todos los días.
My mother used to wake me up with music every day.
él/ella/usted
Siempre despertábamos a los vecinos con nuestros gritos.
We used to wake the neighbors up with our shouting.
nosotros
Yo dormía mientras tú despertabas a los niños.
I was sleeping while you were waking the kids up.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent in 'despertábamos'.
Correct: despertábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the first 'a' in the nosotros form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: despierto
Despertar has an e→ie stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: desperté
Despertar is regular in the preterite: desperté, despertaste, despertó, despertamos, despertasteis, despertaron.
Future
yo: despertaré
The future of despertar is regular: despertaré, despertarás, despertará, despertaremos, despertaréis, despertarán.
Conditional
yo: despertaría
The conditional of despertar is regular: despertaría, despertarías, despertaría, despertaríamos, despertaríais, despertarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: despierte
The present subjunctive follows the e→ie stem change: despierte, despiertes, despierte, despertemos, despertéis, despierten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: despertara
The imperfect subjunctive of despertar is regular: despertara, despertaras, despertara, despertáramos, despertarais, despertaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: despierta
Give commands using despierta (tú), despierte (usted), or despertad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no despiertes
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no despiertes (tú), no despierte (usted).