destruir Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
destruir — destroy
The imperfect subjunctive of destruir is based on the third-person preterite: destruyera, destruyeras, destruyera...
destruir Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical 'if' situations (e.g., 'If I destroyed...') or after past-tense expressions of emotion or doubt.
Notes on destruir in the Imperfect Subjunctive
Always build this from the 'ellos' preterite form (destruyeron). Drop the -on and add the subjunctive endings.
Example Sentences
Si yo destruyera esta carta, nadie sabría la verdad.
If I destroyed this letter, nobody would know the truth.
yo
Me dio miedo que destruyeran el edificio.
It scared me that they might destroy the building.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'destruiera' (with an i).
Correct: destruyera
Why: Since it comes from the preterite 'destruyeron', it must keep the 'y'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: destruyo
Destruir is a 'y-verb' in the present tense, adding a 'y' before the ending in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: destruí
The preterite of destruir is irregular, changing the 'i' to 'y' in the third-person forms: destruyó and destruyeron.
Imperfect
yo: destruía
The imperfect of destruir is regular: destruía, destruías, destruía, destruíamos, destruíais, destruían.
Future
yo: destruiré
The future tense of destruir is regular: añadiré las terminaciones al infinitivo.
Conditional
yo: destruiría
The conditional of destruir is regular: destruiría, destruirías, destruiría, destruiríamos, destruiríais, destruirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: destruya
The present subjunctive of destruir follows the 'y' pattern: destruya, destruyas, destruya, destruyamos, destruyáis, destruyan.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: destruye
The imperative of destruir uses 'destruye' (tú) and 'destruya' (usted), following the 'y' spelling change.
Negative Imperative
yo: no destruyas
The negative imperative of destruir uses the present subjunctive: no destruyas, no destruya, no destruyamos...