entender Imperfect Conjugation
entender — to understand
The imperfect of entender is regular: entendía, entendías, entendía, entendíamos, entendíais, entendían.
entender Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a state of understanding that lasted for a while in the past, or to describe what you 'used to' understand.
Notes on entender in the Imperfect
Like all regular -er verbs in the imperfect, it uses the -ía endings and always has an accent on the 'í'.
Example Sentences
Antes yo no entendía cómo funcionaba la app.
Before, I didn't understand how the app worked.
yo
Nosotros entendíamos que era una broma.
We understood (it was our understanding) that it was a joke.
nosotros
¿Entendías lo que decía tu abuelo?
Did you used to understand what your grandfather said?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent: 'entendia'.
Correct: entendía
Why: All forms of the imperfect for -er verbs require an accent on the 'i' to maintain the correct stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: entiendo
Entender is a stem-changing verb (e-ie) in the present: entiendo, entiendes, entiende, entendemos, entendéis, entienden.
Preterite
yo: entendí
The preterite of entender is regular: entendí, entendiste, entendió, entendimos, entendisteis, entendieron.
Future
yo: entenderé
The future tense of entender is regular: entenderé, entenderás, entenderá, entenderemos, entenderéis, entenderán.
Conditional
yo: entendería
The conditional of entender is regular: entendería, entenderías, entendería, entenderíamos, entenderíais, entenderían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: entienda
The present subjunctive of entender follows the stem change: entienda, entiendas, entienda, entendamos, entendáis, entiendan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: entendiera
The imperfect subjunctive of entender is regular: entendiera, entendieras, entendiera, entendiéramos, entendierais, entendieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: entiende
The affirmative imperative uses the stem change: entiende (tú), entienda (usted), entended (vosotros), entiendan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no entiendas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no entiendas, no entienda, no entendamos, no entendáis, no entiendan.