inflar Imperfect Conjugation
inflar — to inflate
The imperfect of 'inflar' (inflaba, inflabas, inflábamos, inflabais, inflaban) describes ongoing or habitual past actions, like 'used to inflate' or 'was inflating'.
inflar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense of 'inflar' to describe actions that were happening continuously in the past, or actions that were habitual. For instance, 'He used to inflate balloons every day' or 'While they were inflating the raft, the phone rang'.
Notes on inflar in the Imperfect
'Inflar' is a regular -ar verb in the imperfect indicative tense. All forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Yo inflaba los globos mientras tú preparabas la comida.
I was inflating the balloons while you were preparing the food.
yo
Cuando eras niño, ¿inflabas muchos cometas?
When you were a child, did you used to inflate many kites?
tú
Ella inflaba el colchón de aire cada vez que íbamos de camping.
She used to inflate the air mattress every time we went camping.
él/ella/usted
Los vendedores inflaban sus productos con mucho entusiasmo.
The sellers used to inflate their products with great enthusiasm.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single completed action.
Correct: For 'I inflated the tire yesterday', use the preterite 'inflé', not the imperfect 'inflaba'.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, not single, completed events.
Mistake: Confusing 'inflaba' (yo) with 'inflaba' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The form 'inflaba' is the same for 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted'. Context or explicit pronouns are needed.
Why: This is a common feature of regular -ar verbs in the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: inflo
The present tense of 'inflar' (inflo, inflas, infla, inflamos, infláis, inflan) is used for actions happening now, habitual actions, or general truths.
Preterite
yo: inflé
The preterite of 'inflar' is regular: inflé, inflaste, infló, inflamos, inflasteis, inflaron, for completed past actions.
Future
yo: inflaré
The future tense of 'inflar' (inflaré, inflarás, inflará, inflaremos, inflaréis, inflarán) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: inflaría
The conditional of 'inflar' (inflaría, inflarías, inflaría, inflaríamos, inflaríais, inflarían) expresses 'would' actions, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: infle
The present subjunctive of 'inflar' (infle, infles, inflemos, inflen, infléis) is used after wishes, doubts, emotions, and impersonal expressions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: inflara
The imperfect subjunctive of 'inflar' (inflara, inflaras, infláramos, inflarais, inflaran) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: infla
Use 'infla' (tú), 'infle' (usted), 'inflemos' (nosotros), 'inflen' (ustedes), 'inflad' (vosotros) for direct commands with 'inflar'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no infles
Use 'no infles' (tú), 'no infle' (usted), 'no inflemos' (nosotros), 'no inflen' (ustedes), 'no infléis' (vosotros) for negative commands with 'inflar'.