hervir Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
hervir — to boil
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'hirvier-' stem for all forms (hirviera, hirvieras, etc.).
hervir Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for past doubts or hypothetical 'if' situations regarding boiling.
Notes on hervir in the Imperfect Subjunctive
The stem comes from the 3rd person plural preterite (hirvieron). Therefore, the 'i' carries through all forms.
Example Sentences
Si el agua hirviera, ya habríamos terminado.
If the water were boiling, we would have finished already.
él/ella/usted
Me pidió que hirviera los instrumentos.
He asked me to boil the instruments.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: herveras
Correct: hirvieras
Why: The stem must match the preterite 'hirvieron', including the 'i' and the 'ie' diphthong.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: hiervo
Hervir is an e > ie stem-changer in the present (hiervo, hierves, hierve, hierven), except for nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: herví
Hervir has a 'slipper' stem change (e > i) only in the third-person forms: hirvió and hirvieron.
Imperfect
yo: hervía
Hervir is completely regular in the imperfect: hervía, hervías, hervía, hervíamos, hervíais, hervían.
Future
yo: herviré
Hervir is regular in the future; just add the endings to the infinitive: herviré, hervirás, etc.
Conditional
yo: herviría
The conditional uses the full infinitive 'hervir' plus the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: hierva
Hervir changes e > ie in most forms, but importantly shifts e > i in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: hierve
Use 'hierve' for tú and 'hierva' for usted to give direct cooking instructions.
Negative Imperative
yo: no hiervas
All negative commands for hervir are identical to the present subjunctive forms preceded by 'no'.