entrevistar Imperfect Conjugation
entrevistar — to interview
The imperfect 'entrevistaba' describes ongoing or habitual past interviews.
entrevistar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect of 'entrevistar' to describe an action that was happening repeatedly or continuously in the past, or to set the scene. For example, 'Cuando era joven, entrevistaba a mucha gente para la radio' (When I was young, I used to interview many people for the radio) or 'Mientras entrevistaba al actor, sonó el teléfono' (While I was interviewing the actor, the phone rang).
Notes on entrevistar in the Imperfect
Entrevistar is regular in the imperfect tense. The endings -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban are added to the infinitive stem.
Example Sentences
Yo entrevistaba a los refugiados cada semana.
I used to interview the refugees every week.
yo
¿Tú entrevistabas a los políticos en ese entonces?
Were you interviewing the politicians back then?
tú
Él entrevistaba a los candidatos durante horas.
He was interviewing the candidates for hours.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros entrevistábamos a los artistas emergentes.
We were interviewing the emerging artists.
nosotros
Ellos entrevistaban a los testigos del suceso.
They were interviewing the witnesses of the event.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual actions.
Correct: For actions done repeatedly in the past, use the imperfect: 'entrevistaba', not 'entrevistó'.
Why: The preterite is for completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or repeated past actions.
Mistake: Confusing 'entrevistaba' (yo) with 'entrevistaba' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The form is the same, so rely on the subject pronoun or context.
Why: Like many verbs, the first-person singular and third-person singular forms are identical in the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: entrevisto
The present tense 'entrevisto', 'entrevistas', 'entrevista' is used for current or habitual interviews.
Preterite
yo: entrevisté
The preterite of 'entrevistar' is regular: entrevisté, entrevistaste, entrevistó, entrevistamos, entrevistasteis, entrevistaron.
Future
yo: entrevistaré
The future tense 'entrevistaré', 'entrevistarás', 'entrevistará' indicates interviews that will happen.
Conditional
yo: entrevistaría
The conditional 'entrevistaría' expresses 'would interview' for hypotheticals or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: entreviste
Use 'entreviste' (yo/él/ella/usted) or 'entrevisten' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) after expressions of doubt, desire, or emotion about interviews.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: entrevistara
The imperfect subjunctive 'entrevistara' or 'entrevistase' is used for hypothetical situations or past wishes/doubts about interviews.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: entrevista
Use 'entrevista' (tú) and 'entreviste' (usted) to give direct commands when interviewing someone.
Negative Imperative
yo: no entrevistes
Use 'no entrevistes' (tú) or 'no entreviste' (usted) for negative commands, like 'Don't interview them'.