elevar Imperfect Conjugation
elevar — to lift
Use 'elevaba', 'elevabas', 'elevaba', 'elevábamos', 'elevabais', 'elevaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
elevar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
The imperfect is for describing background actions in the past, habitual actions, or states of being. For 'elevar', you might say 'Cuando era niño, elevaba cometas' (When I was a child, I used to fly kites) or 'El humo elevaba lentamente' (The smoke was rising slowly).
Notes on elevar in the Imperfect
Elevar is regular in the imperfect indicative. All forms follow the standard pattern: aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban.
Example Sentences
Yo elevaba mi voz en el coro.
I used to raise my voice in the choir.
yo
¿Tú elevabas la mirada al cielo a menudo?
Did you often lift your gaze to the sky?
tú
El globo elevaba con el viento.
The balloon was rising with the wind.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros elevábamos ofrendas cada domingo.
We used to make offerings every Sunday.
nosotros
Ellos elevaban sus pensamientos a cosas más altas.
They were lifting their thoughts to higher things.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual actions.
Correct: For repeated or ongoing past actions, use the imperfect: 'elevaba' (I used to lift), not 'elevé' (I lifted once).
Why: The imperfect describes the duration or repetition of past actions, not their completion.
Mistake: Confusing the accent in 'elevábamos'.
Correct: The nosotros form 'elevábamos' needs an accent on the 'a' before the 'bamos'.
Why: This accent marks the stressed syllable in this imperfect tense form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: elevo
Use 'elevo', 'elevas', 'eleva', 'elevamos', 'eleváis', 'elevan' for actions happening now or habitual actions.
Preterite
yo: elevé
Use 'elevé', 'elevaste', 'elevó', 'elevamos', 'elevasteis', 'elevaron' for completed actions in the past.
Future
yo: elevaré
Use 'elevaré', 'elevarás', 'elevará', 'elevarémos', 'elevaréis', 'elevarán' for future actions or probability.
Conditional
yo: elevaría
Use 'elevaría', 'elevarías', 'elevaría', 'elevaríamos', 'elevaríais', 'elevarían' for hypotheticals, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: eleve
Use 'eleve'/'eleves'/'elevemos'/'eleven'/'elevéis' after wishes, doubts, emotions, or impersonal expressions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: elevara
Use 'elevara'/'elevaras'/'eleváramos'/'elevaran'/'elevaraís' for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: eleva
Use 'eleva' (tú), 'eleve' (usted), 'elevemos' (nosotros), 'elevad' (vosotros), 'eleven' (ustedes) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no eleves
Use 'no eleves' (tú), 'no eleve' (usted), 'no elevemos' (nosotros), 'no elevéis' (vosotros), 'no eleven' (ustedes) for negative commands.