faltar Imperfect Conjugation
faltar — to be missing
Faltar follows the standard -aba pattern for the imperfect: faltaba, faltabas, faltaba, faltábamos, faltabais, faltaban.
faltar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for habitual absences in the past or to describe what was missing as background information in a story.
Notes on faltar in the Imperfect
Faltar is regular in the imperfect. Only the 'nosotros' form carries a written accent on the first 'a'.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo nunca faltaba a la escuela.
As a child, I never used to miss school.
yo
A la tarta le faltaba azúcar.
The cake was lacking sugar.
él/ella/usted
Siempre faltabais a las reuniones.
You guys always used to miss the meetings.
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on faltábamos.
Correct: faltábamos
Why: All nosotros forms in the imperfect indicative of -ar verbs require an accent on the 'á'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: falto
Faltar is regular in the present tense: falto, faltas, falta, faltamos, faltáis, faltan.
Preterite
yo: falté
The preterite of faltar is regular: falté, faltaste, faltó, faltamos, faltasteis, faltaron.
Future
yo: faltaré
To form the future of faltar, add endings to the infinitive: faltaré, faltarás, faltará, faltaremos, faltaréis, faltarán.
Conditional
yo: faltaría
The conditional of faltar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: faltaría, faltarías, faltaría, faltaríamos, faltaríais, faltarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: falte
The present subjunctive of faltar uses -e endings: falte, faltes, falte, faltemos, faltéis, falten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: faltara
The imperfect subjunctive of faltar is formed from the 'ellos' preterite: faltara, faltaras, faltara, faltáramos, faltarais, faltaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: falta
The imperative of faltar uses standard -ar commands: falta (tú), faltad (vosotros), falte (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no faltes
The negative imperative of faltar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no faltes, no falte, no faltemos, no faltéis, no falten.