disimular Imperfect Conjugation
disimular — to hide
Disimulaba, disimulabas, disimulaba, disimulábamos, disimulabais, disimulaban describe ongoing or habitual past hiding.
disimular Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect with disimular to describe actions of hiding that were happening over a period of time in the past, or actions that were habitual. Think of background descriptions: 'He was hiding his true feelings' or 'She used to pretend everything was fine'.
Notes on disimular in the Imperfect
Disimular is regular in the imperfect indicative tense.
Example Sentences
Yo disimulaba mi tristeza cuando estaba con mis amigos.
I used to hide my sadness when I was with my friends.
yo
¿Tú disimulabas que te gustaba la película?
Were you pretending to like the movie?
tú
Él disimulaba su nerviosismo con chistes.
He used to hide his nervousness with jokes.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros disimulábamos el problema para no preocupar a nadie.
We were hiding the problem so as not to worry anyone.
nosotros
Ellos disimulaban que no se conocían.
They pretended they didn't know each other.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite 'disimuló' instead of the imperfect 'disimulaba' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Correct: For actions that were in progress or repeated in the past, use 'disimulaba'. Use 'disimuló' for a single, completed event.
Why: The imperfect describes the background or duration, while the preterite describes a finished event.
Mistake: Confusing the imperfect 'disimulabais' (vosotros) with the imperfect 'disimulabais' (vosotros).
Correct: No mistake here, the form is correct. Just ensure you're using the right pronoun.
Why: This form is correct for vosotros in the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: disimulo
Disimulo, disimulas, disimula, disimulamos, disimuláis, disimulan describe current or habitual hiding.
Preterite
yo: disimulé
Disimulé, disimulaste, disimuló, disimulamos, disimulasteis, disimularon mark completed actions of hiding.
Future
yo: disimularé
Disimularé, disimularás, disimulará, disimularemos, disimularéis, disimularán predict future actions of hiding.
Conditional
yo: disimularía
Disimularía, disimularías, disimularía, disimularíamos, disimularíais, disimularían express hypothetical hiding.
Present Subjunctive
yo: disimule
Disimule, disimules, disimulemos, disimuléis, disimulen are the present subjunctive forms of disimular.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: disimulara
Disimulara or disimulara forms are used for past hypotheticals and wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: disimula
Disimula, disimule, disimulemos, disimulad, disimulen are the commands for disimular.
Negative Imperative
yo: no disimules
No disimules, no disimule, no disimulemos, no disimuléis, no disimulen are the negative commands for disimular.