felicitar Imperfect Conjugation
felicitar — to congratulate
The imperfect of felicitar (felicitaba, felicitabas, felicitaba, felicitábamos, felicitabais, felicitaban) describes ongoing or habitual past congratulations.
felicitar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense of felicitar to describe repeated actions of congratulating in the past, or to set the scene where congratulations were happening over a period of time.
Notes on felicitar in the Imperfect
Felicitar is regular in the imperfect tense. All conjugations follow the standard pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Cada año, yo felicitaba a mi abuela por su santo.
Every year, I used to congratulate my grandmother on her saint's day.
yo
Cuando éramos niños, felicitábamos a los reyes magos cada enero.
When we were children, we used to congratulate the Three Kings every January.
nosotros
Ella siempre felicitaba a los estudiantes por sus esfuerzos.
She always congratulated the students on their efforts.
él/ella/usted
Mientras daban los premios, todos se felicitaban.
While they were giving out the awards, everyone was congratulating each other.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single, completed act of congratulating.
Correct: Use the preterite for completed actions: 'Ayer te felicité'.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Confusing the imperfect endings with the present tense.
Correct: Remember the imperfect endings for -ar verbs: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban.
Why: These endings are specific to the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: felicito
The present tense of felicitar (felicito, felicitas, felicita, felicitamos, felicitáis, felicitan) describes habitual actions or things happening now.
Preterite
yo: felicité
The preterite of felicitar is regular: felicité, felicitaste, felicitó, felicitamos, felicitasteis, felicitaron.
Future
yo: felicitaré
The future tense of felicitar (felicitaré, felicitarás, felicitará, etc.) indicates an action that will happen.
Conditional
yo: felicitaría
The conditional of felicitar (felicitaría, felicitarías, felicitaría, etc.) is used for hypotheticals, polite requests, and future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: felicite
The present subjunctive of felicitar (felicite, felicites, felicitemos, felicitéis, feliciten) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: felicitara
The imperfect subjunctive of felicitar (felicitara/felicitase) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: felicita
The imperative of felicitar uses 'felicita' (tú), 'felicite' (usted), 'felicitemos' (nosotros), 'felicitéis' (vosotros), 'felicite' (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no felicites
Negative commands for felicitar use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no felicites (tú), no felicite (usted), no felicitemos (nosotros), no felicitéis (vosotros), no feliciten (ustedes).