encerrar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
encerrar — to lock up
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the third-person plural preterite: encerrara, encerraras, encerrara...
encerrar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypotheticals (if I locked...) or when the main verb is in the past and requires the subjunctive.
Notes on encerrar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
Since the preterite of encerrar is regular, the imperfect subjunctive is also regular (no stem change).
Example Sentences
Si yo encerrara mis miedos, sería más feliz.
If I locked up my fears, I would be happier.
yo
Me pidieron que encerrara la oficina al salir.
They asked me to lock the office on the way out.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: si yo encierrara
Correct: si yo encerrara
Why: The imperfect subjunctive never uses the ie stem change for -ar verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: encierro
Encerrar is a stem-changing verb (e to ie) in the present tense, except for nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: encerré
Encerrar is completely regular in the preterite; it does NOT have a stem change here.
Imperfect
yo: encerraba
Encerrar is regular in the imperfect: encerraba, encerrabas, encerraba, encerrábamos, encerrabais, encerraban.
Future
yo: encerraré
The future of encerrar is regular: just add the endings (é, ás, á, emos, éis, án) to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: encerraría
The conditional of encerrar is regular: encerraría, encerrarías, encerraría, encerraríamos, encerraríais, encerrarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: encierre
The present subjunctive follows the e-to-ie stem change of the present indicative for all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: encierra
Use 'encierra' for tú and 'encierre' for usted to give direct orders to lock something up.
Negative Imperative
yo: no encierres
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms: no encierres, no encierre.