eliminar Imperfect Conjugation
eliminar — eliminate
The imperfect of eliminar is regular: eliminaba, eliminabas, eliminaba, eliminábamos, eliminabais, eliminaban.
eliminar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense of 'eliminar' to describe habitual actions in the past or ongoing actions that set the scene. For instance, 'Cuando era niño, eliminaba los bichos del jardín' (When I was a child, I used to eliminate bugs from the garden).
Notes on eliminar in the Imperfect
Eliminar is regular in the imperfect tense. The stem is 'eliminab-' to which the standard imperfect endings are added.
Example Sentences
Yo eliminaba las malas hierbas cada sábado.
I used to eliminate the weeds every Saturday.
yo
Tú eliminabas el polvo de los libros antiguos.
You used to eliminate the dust from the old books.
tú
Él eliminaba los errores del programa.
He used to eliminate the errors from the program.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros eliminábamos los obstáculos en el camino.
We used to eliminate obstacles in the path.
nosotros
Ellos eliminaban los ruidos molestos.
They used to eliminate the annoying noises.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual past actions.
Correct: Use 'eliminaba' for 'I used to eliminate', not 'eliminé'.
Why: The imperfect tense is specifically for ongoing or habitual past actions, while the preterite is for completed actions.
Mistake: Confusing the 'nosotros' imperfect with the present.
Correct: The imperfect 'eliminábamos' is distinct from the present 'eliminamos'.
Why: The '-bamos' ending clearly marks the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: elimino
The present indicative of eliminar is regular: elimino, eliminas, elimina, eliminamos, elimináis, eliminan.
Preterite
yo: eliminé
The preterite of eliminar is regular: eliminé, eliminaste, eliminó, eliminamos, eliminasteis, eliminaron.
Future
yo: eliminaré
The future of eliminar is regular, using the infinitive stem: eliminaré, eliminarás, eliminará, eliminaremos, eliminaréis, eliminarán.
Conditional
yo: eliminaría
The conditional of eliminar is regular: eliminaría, eliminarías, eliminaría, eliminaríamos, eliminaríais, eliminarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: elimine
The present subjunctive of eliminar is regular: elimine, elimines, elimine, eliminemos, eliminéis, eliminen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: eliminara
The imperfect subjunctive of eliminar is regular: eliminara, eliminaras, eliminara, elimináramos, eliminarais, eliminaran (or -ra forms).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: elimina
The imperative of eliminar is regular: elimina (tú), elimine (usted), eliminemos (nosotros), eliminen (ustedes), eliminad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no elimines
The negative imperative of eliminar uses the present subjunctive: no elimines (tú), no elimine (usted), no eliminemos (nosotros), no eliminen (ustedes), no eliminéis (vosotros).