imaginar Imperfect Conjugation
imaginar — to imagine
The imperfect of imaginar uses the standard -aba endings: imaginaba, imaginabas, imaginaba, imaginábamos, imaginabais, imaginaban.
imaginar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe what you used to imagine as a child or to set the scene of what someone was thinking while another action happened.
Notes on imaginar in the Imperfect
Imaginar is regular in the imperfect. Remember the accent on the 'a' in the nosotros form 'imaginábamos'.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo imaginaba que era un astronauta.
As a child, I used to imagine I was an astronaut.
yo
Nosotros imaginábamos mundos fantásticos en el jardín.
We used to imagine fantastic worlds in the garden.
nosotros
Ellos imaginaban que el viaje sería más corto.
They were imagining that the trip would be shorter.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: imaginaba (without accent on nosotros)
Correct: imaginábamos
Why: All nosotros forms in the imperfect indicative for -ar verbs require an accent on the first 'a' of the ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: imagino
Imaginar is regular in the present: imagino, imaginas, imagina, imaginamos, imagináis, imaginan.
Preterite
yo: imaginé
Imaginar is regular in the preterite: imaginé, imaginaste, imaginó, imaginamos, imaginasteis, imaginaron.
Future
yo: imaginaré
The future of imaginar is regular: imaginaré, imaginarás, imaginará, imaginaremos, imaginaréis, imaginarán.
Conditional
yo: imaginaría
The conditional of imaginar is regular: imaginaría, imaginarías, imaginaría, imaginaríamos, imaginaríais, imaginarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: imagine
The present subjunctive of imaginar swaps -a for -e: imagine, imagines, imagine, imaginemos, imaginéis, imaginen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: imaginara
The imperfect subjunctive of imaginar uses the -ara stem: imaginara, imaginaras, imaginara, imagináramos, imaginararais, imaginaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: imagina
The imperative of imaginar uses imagina (tú) and imagine (usted) to give creative commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no imagines
The negative imperative of imaginar uses the present subjunctive forms: no imagines, no imagine, no imaginemos, no imaginéis, no imaginen.