establecer Imperfect Conjugation
establecer — to establish
The imperfect of establecer is regular: establecía, establecías, establecía, establecíamos, establecíais, establecían.
establecer Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe ongoing past situations, like how things were being established over time or habitual rules in the past.
Notes on establecer in the Imperfect
This verb is regular in the imperfect. All -er verbs in the imperfect use the -ía ending.
Example Sentences
Antes, ellos establecían las citas por teléfono.
Before, they used to establish appointments by phone.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Mi abuelo establecía el orden en la familia.
My grandfather used to establish order in the family.
él/ella/usted
Mientras establecíamos las bases, surgió un problema.
While we were establishing the foundations, a problem arose.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: establecia (without accent)
Correct: establecía
Why: The 'i' in the -ía ending of the imperfect always carries an accent to maintain the syllable stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: establezco
Establecer is irregular in the 'yo' form (establezco), but regular for all other persons.
Preterite
yo: establecí
The preterite of establecer is completely regular: establecí, estableciste, estableció, etc.
Future
yo: estableceré
The future tense is regular: add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive establecer.
Conditional
yo: establecería
The conditional is regular: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive establecer.
Present Subjunctive
yo: establezca
The present subjunctive uses the irregular 'establezc-' stem for all persons.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: estableciera
Formed using the preterite stem: estableciera, establecieras, estableciera, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: establece
The imperative uses 'establece' for tú and 'establezca' for formal/plural commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no establezcas
Negative commands always use the present subjunctive forms: no establezcas, no establezca, etc.