imponer Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
imponer — to impose
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'impusi-' stem: impusiera, impusieras, impusiera, impusiéramos, impusierais, impusieran.
imponer Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations ('If they imposed...') or after past-tense verbs expressing influence or emotion.
Notes on imponer in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is derived from the third-person plural of the preterite (impusieron), keeping the 'impusi-' stem.
Example Sentences
Si el gobierno impusiera más impuestos, habría protestas.
If the government imposed more taxes, there would be protests.
él/ella/usted
Me gustaría que no nos impusieran tantas condiciones.
I would like it if they didn't impose so many conditions on us.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Fue una pena que ella impusiera su criterio sin escuchar.
It was a shame that she imposed her criteria without listening.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'imponiera'.
Correct: The correct stem is 'impusiera'.
Why: The imperfect subjunctive always follows the irregular stem of the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: impongo
The present tense of imponer uses the 'g-verb' pattern for 'yo' (impongo), but follows regular -er patterns for all other persons.
Preterite
yo: impuse
Imponer uses the irregular 'pus-' stem in the preterite: impuse, impusiste, impuso, impusimos, impusisteis, impusieron.
Imperfect
yo: imponía
The imperfect of imponer is completely regular: imponía, imponías, imponía, imponíamos, imponíais, imponían.
Future
yo: impondré
The future tense of imponer uses the irregular stem 'impondr-': impondré, impondrás, impondrá, etc.
Conditional
yo: impondría
The conditional of imponer uses the irregular stem 'impondr-': impondría, impondrías, impondría, etc.
Present Subjunctive
yo: imponga
The present subjunctive uses the 'impong-' stem: imponga, impongas, imponga, impongamos, impongáis, impongan.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: impón
The affirmative imperative has a short 'tú' form (impón) and uses 'impong-' for formal/plural commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no impongas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive: no impongas, no imponga, no impongamos, no impongáis, no impongan.