elevar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
elevar — to lift
Use 'elevara'/'elevaras'/'eleváramos'/'elevaran'/'elevaraís' for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
elevar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is great for talking about hypothetical situations or wishes in the past, or making very polite requests that relate to the past. For example, 'Si yo elevara más peso, me lastimaría' (If I lifted more weight, I would hurt myself). It's also used after expressions of doubt or emotion in the past.
Notes on elevar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
Elevar is regular in the imperfect subjunctive. Remember that both the -ra and -se endings are correct (e.g., 'elevara' or 'elevase'), though the -ra form is more common in many regions.
Example Sentences
Si yo elevara más peso, me lastimaría.
If I lifted more weight, I would hurt myself.
yo
Ojalá tú elevaras tu nivel de español.
I wish you would raise your Spanish level.
tú
Me pidió que elevara la carta al buzón.
He asked me to lift the letter to the mailbox.
él/ella/usted
Ellos pensaban que elevaran el precio.
They thought they would raise the price.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Dudaba que nosotros eleváramos el listón tan alto.
I doubted that we would raise the bar so high.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing imperfect subjunctive with imperfect indicative.
Correct: Use 'elevara' for hypothetical or wishful past contexts, not 'elevaba'.
Why: The imperfect subjunctive is used for unreal or hypothetical situations, while the imperfect indicative describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Using the wrong ending (-ra vs -se).
Correct: Both 'elevara' and 'elevase' are correct imperfect subjunctive forms for 'yo', but 'elevara' is generally more common.
Why: Spanish has two sets of endings for the imperfect subjunctive; learners often only know one.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: elevaba
Use 'elevaba', 'elevabas', 'elevaba', 'elevábamos', 'elevabais', 'elevaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
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.
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.