lidiar Imperfect Conjugation
lidiar — to deal with
The imperfect tense of 'lidiar' (lidiaba, lidiabas, etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
lidiar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense of 'lidiar' to describe something you used to do regularly in the past, or an action that was in progress in the past without a defined end. For example, 'Cuando era joven, lidiaba con muchas responsabilidades' (When I was young, I dealt with many responsibilities) or 'Él lidiaba con el ruido mientras estudiaba' (He was dealing with the noise while he studied).
Notes on lidiar in the Imperfect
Lidiar is regular in the imperfect tense. The endings are standard for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo lidiaba con el estrés a menudo.
I often dealt with stress.
yo
¿Tú lidiabas con ese problema?
Did you used to deal with that problem?
tú
Ella lidiaba con la presión del equipo.
She was dealing with the team's pressure.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros lidiábamos con el tráfico cada día.
We used to deal with the traffic every day.
nosotros
Ellos lidiaban con la falta de recursos.
They were dealing with the lack of resources.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing imperfect ('lidiaba') with preterite ('lidió').
Correct: Use 'lidiaba' for ongoing/habitual past actions and 'lidió' for completed actions.
Why: The imperfect sets the scene or describes habits, while the preterite focuses on a specific, finished event.
Mistake: Missing the accent on the 'nosotros' form 'lidiábamos'.
Correct: The correct form is 'lidiábamos', with an accent on the 'a'.
Why: The accent is crucial for correct pronunciation and indicates the stressed syllable in the 'nosotros' imperfect ending for -ar verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: lidio
The present tense of 'lidiar' (lidio, lidas, lidia, etc.) describes current actions or habits.
Preterite
yo: lidié
The preterite of 'lidiar' (lidié, lidiaste, lidió, etc.) refers to completed past actions.
Future
yo: lidiaré
The future tense of 'lidiar' (lidiaré, lidiarás, etc.) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: lidiaría
The conditional of 'lidiar' (lidiaría, lidiarías, etc.) expresses hypotheticals ('would deal').
Present Subjunctive
yo: lidie
The present subjunctive of 'lidiar' (lidie, lidies, etc.) expresses wishes, doubts, or emotions about a present situation.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: lidiara
The imperfect subjunctive of 'lidiar' (lidiara, lidiaras, etc.) is used for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: lidia
Use 'lidia' for tú commands, 'lidie' for usted/ustedes, and 'lidien' for ellos/ellas/ustedes.
Negative Imperative
yo: no lidies
Negative commands for 'lidiar' use 'no' + present subjunctive forms.