elegir Imperfect Conjugation
elegir — to choose
The imperfect of elegir is regular: elegía, elegías, elegía, elegíamos, elegíais, elegían.
elegir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe the process of choosing in the past, repeated choices, or how you used to pick things as a child.
Notes on elegir in the Imperfect
Elegir is regular in the imperfect. There are no stem changes here, unlike the present or preterite.
Example Sentences
De niño, siempre elegía el helado de chocolate.
As a child, I always used to choose chocolate ice cream.
yo
Mientras elegíamos la ropa, empezó a llover.
While we were choosing the clothes, it started to rain.
nosotros
Ustedes elegían libros muy interesantes.
You all used to choose very interesting books.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Adding a stem change like 'eligía'.
Correct: The correct form is 'elegía'.
Why: The e > i stem change does not apply to the imperfect tense for -ir verbs.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'í'.
Correct: All forms of elegir in the imperfect require an accent on the 'í' (elegía).
Why: This is a standard rule for all -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: elijo
Elegir is a stem-changing verb (e > i) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros, plus a spelling change in the 'yo' form.
Preterite
yo: elegí
Elegir has a stem change (e > i) in the third person: eligió and eligieron.
Future
yo: elegiré
The future tense of elegir is regular: elegiré, elegirás, elegirá, elegiremos, elegiréis, elegirán.
Conditional
yo: elegiría
The conditional of elegir is regular: elegiría, elegirías, elegiría, elegiríamos, elegiríais, elegirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: elija
The present subjunctive uses the 'i' stem change and the 'j' spelling in all forms: elija, elijas, elija, elijamos, elijáis, elijan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: eligiera
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the third-person preterite 'eligieron', resulting in: eligiera, eligieras, eligiera, eligiéramos, eligierais, eligieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: elige
The imperative uses the 'i' stem change for most commands: elige (tú), elija (usted), elijamos (nosotros), elegid (vosotros), elijan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no elijas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no elijas, no elija, no elijamos, no elijáis, no elijan.