envenenar Imperfect Conjugation
envenenar — to poison
The imperfect of envenenar (envenenaba, envenenabas...) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
envenenar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect of 'envenenar' to describe actions that were happening repeatedly or continuously in the past, or to set the scene. For example, describing how someone used to poison food regularly, or what was happening when the poisoning occurred.
Notes on envenenar in the Imperfect
Envenenar is regular in the imperfect indicative tense. The endings (-aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban) are standard for regular -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Cuando era joven, envenenaba las ratas del granero.
When I was young, I used to poison the barn rats.
yo
¿Tú envenenabas las plantas de tu vecino?
Were you poisoning your neighbor's plants?
tú
El veneno envenenaba el agua del río poco a poco.
The poison was poisoning the river water little by little.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros envenenábamos la discusión con comentarios negativos.
We used to poison the discussion with negative comments.
nosotros
Ellos envenenaban la comida para ganar la competencia.
They were poisoning the food to win the competition.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite ('envenenó') instead of the imperfect ('envenenaba') for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Correct: Use the imperfect for descriptions, habitual actions, or actions in progress in the past.
Why: The imperfect sets the background or describes continuous/repeated actions, whereas the preterite focuses on completed events.
Mistake: Confusing the 'nosotros' imperfect form.
Correct: The correct 'nosotros' form is 'envenenábamos', with the accent on the 'a'.
Why: This is a common area for accent errors in the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: enveneno
The present tense of envenenar (enveneno, envenenas, envenena...) describes habitual actions or things happening now.
Preterite
yo: envenené
The preterite of envenenar is regular: envenené, envenenaste, envenenó, envenenamos, envenenasteis, envenenaron.
Future
yo: envenenaré
The future tense of envenenar (envenenaré, envenenarás...) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: envenenaría
The conditional of envenenar (envenenaría, envenenarías...) expresses 'would' actions, politeness, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: envenene
The present subjunctive of envenenar (envenene, envenenes, etc.) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: envenenara
The imperfect subjunctive of envenenar (envenenara/envenenase) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: envenena
The imperative of envenenar uses regular -ar endings: envenena (tú), envenene (usted), envenenemos (nosotros), envenenen (ustedes), envenenad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no envenenes
Negative commands for envenenar use 'no' + present subjunctive: no envenenes (tú), no envenene (usted), no envenenemos (nosotros), no envenenen (ustedes), no envenenéis (vosotros).