instruir Imperfect Conjugation
instruir — to instruct
The imperfect of instruir is regular: instruía, instruías, instruía, instruíamos, instruíais, instruían.
instruir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for ongoing teaching processes in the past or to describe what someone's job used to be (e.g., 'I used to instruct').
Notes on instruir in the Imperfect
Instruir is regular in the imperfect. Every form carries a written accent on the 'í' of the ending.
Example Sentences
Mi abuelo me instruía en el arte de la pesca.
My grandfather used to instruct me in the art of fishing.
él/ella/usted
Mientras ellos instruían a los niños, nosotros preparábamos la comida.
While they were instructing the children, we were preparing the food.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nosotros instruíamos a los reclutas cada mañana.
We used to instruct the recruits every morning.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'í'.
Correct: instruía
Why: All -ir verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'i' to separate the vowels and indicate stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: instruyo
The present of instruir adds a 'y' before endings: instruyo, instruyes, instruye, instruimos, instruís, instruyen.
Preterite
yo: instruí
Instruir in the preterite features a 'y' in the third-person forms: instruí, instruiste, instruyó, instruimos, instruisteis, instruyeron.
Future
yo: instruiré
The future of instruir is regular: instruiré, instruirás, instruirá, instruiremos, instruiréis, instruirán.
Conditional
yo: instruiría
The conditional of instruir is regular: instruiría, instruirías, instruiría, instruiríamos, instruiríais, instruirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: instruya
The present subjunctive of instruir uses a 'y' in all forms: instruya, instruyas, instruya, instruyamos, instruyáis, instruyan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: instruyera
The imperfect subjunctive of instruir uses the 'y' from the preterite: instruyera, instruyeras, instruyera, instruyéramos, instruyerais, instruyeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: instruye
Use the imperative to give orders: instruye (tú), instruya (usted), instruid (vosotros), instruyan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no instruyas
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no instruyas, no instruya, no instruyamos, no instruyáis, no instruyan.