envolver Imperfect Conjugation
envolver — to wrap
Envolver is completely regular in the imperfect: envolvía, envolvías, envolvía, envolvíamos, envolvíais, envolvían.
envolver Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe how you used to wrap things in the past or to set the scene (e.g., 'I was wrapping the gift when the phone rang').
Notes on envolver in the Imperfect
There are no irregularities or stem changes here. Just add the -ía endings to the infinitive stem 'envolv-'.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo envolvía los caramelos en papel de colores.
As a child, I used to wrap the candies in colored paper.
yo
Mi abuela envolvía las mantas en sábanas viejas.
My grandmother used to wrap the blankets in old sheets.
él/ella/usted
Mientras ellos envolvían los libros, yo escribía las tarjetas.
While they were wrapping the books, I was writing the cards.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'envolva' instead of 'envolvía'.
Correct: envolvía
Why: The imperfect endings for -er verbs always use the 'í' sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: envuelvo
Envolver is a stem-changing verb in the present tense, changing 'o' to 'ue' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: envolví
Envolver is regular in the preterite, but remember that the past participle is the irregular 'envuelto'.
Future
yo: envolveré
The future tense of envolver is regular: just add -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: envolvería
The conditional is regular: envolvería, envolverías, envolvería, envolveríamos, envolveríais, envolverían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: envuelva
The present subjunctive follows the 'yo' form of the present (envuelvo) and changes the ending to -a.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: envolviera
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite: envolvier-.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: envuelve
Use 'envuelve' for informal commands (tú) and 'envuelva' for formal ones (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no envuelvas
Negative commands for envolver always use the present subjunctive forms.