fallecer Imperfect Conjugation
fallecer — to pass away
The imperfect of fallecer is regular: fallecía, fallecías, fallecía, fallecíamos, fallecíais, fallecían.
fallecer Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe the circumstances surrounding a death or to describe people who were passing away over a period of time (e.g., during a pandemic).
Notes on fallecer in the Imperfect
Fallecer is regular in the imperfect. All forms have an accent on the first 'í'.
Example Sentences
En esa época, mucha gente fallecía de gripe.
At that time, many people were passing away from the flu.
él/ella/usted
Mientras el paciente fallecía, su familia rezaba.
While the patient was passing away, his family was praying.
él/ella/usted
Los soldados fallecían en las trincheras.
The soldiers were dying in the trenches.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'í' (fallecia).
Correct: fallecía
Why: All -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'i' throughout the entire conjugation.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'fallecer' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: fallezco
The present tense of fallecer is irregular in the 'yo' form: fallezco.
Preterite
yo: fallecí
The preterite of fallecer is regular: fallecí, falleciste, falleció, fallecimos, fallecisteis, fallecieron.
Future
yo: falleceré
The future of fallecer is regular: falleceré, fallecerás, fallecerá, falleceremos, falleceréis, fallecerán.
Conditional
yo: fallecería
The conditional of fallecer is regular: fallecería, fallecerías, fallecería, falleceríamos, falleceríais, fallecerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: fallezca
The present subjunctive of fallecer uses the 'fallezc-' stem: fallezca, fallezcas, fallezca...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: falleciera
The imperfect subjunctive of fallecer is regular based on the preterite: falleciera, fallecieras, falleciera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: fallece
The imperative of fallecer is rare but uses the 'fallezc-' stem for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no fallezcas
The negative imperative of fallecer uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no fallezca, no fallezcan.