echar Imperfect Conjugation
echar — to throw
Echar follows the regular -aba pattern in the imperfect: echaba, echabas, echaba, echábamos, echabais, echaban.
echar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe habitual past actions, like things you used to throw or how you used to add milk to your tea every single day.
Notes on echar in the Imperfect
Echar is regular in the imperfect. Only the nosotros form (echábamos) requires a written accent.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo echaba pan a los patos.
As a child, I used to throw bread to the ducks.
yo
Mi abuela siempre echaba mucha sal a la sopa.
My grandmother always used to put a lot of salt in the soup.
él/ella/usted
Echábamos de menos nuestra casa en el campo.
We used to miss our house in the countryside.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on echábamos.
Correct: echábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'a' in the nosotros form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: echo
The present tense of echar is fully regular: echo, echas, echa, echamos, echáis, echan.
Preterite
yo: eché
The preterite of echar is regular: eché, echaste, echó, echamos, echasteis, echaron.
Future
yo: echaré
The future of echar uses the infinitive as the stem: echaré, echarás, echará, echaremos, echaréis, echarán.
Conditional
yo: echaría
The conditional of echar is regular: echaría, echarías, echaría, echaríamos, echaríais, echarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: eche
The present subjunctive of echar switches to 'e' endings: eche, eches, eche, echemos, echéis, echen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: echara
The imperfect subjunctive of echar is regular: echara, echaras, echara, echáramos, echarais, echaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: echa
The affirmative imperative of echar uses echa (tú) and echad (vosotros), with eche/echen for formal use.
Negative Imperative
yo: no eches
The negative imperative of echar uses the present subjunctive: no eches, no eche, no echemos, no echéis, no echen.