manejar Imperfect Conjugation
manejar — to drive
Ongoing or habitual past actions: 'I used to drive', 'was driving'.
manejar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense to describe actions or states in the past that were ongoing, habitual, or set the scene. Think 'used to drive' or 'was driving'.
Notes on manejar in the Imperfect
Manejar is regular in the imperfect indicative. The imperfect forms are derived from the infinitive stem ('manej-') plus the imperfect endings (-aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban).
Example Sentences
Cuando era joven, manejaba un coche deportivo.
When I was young, I used to drive a sports car.
yo
¿Manejabas tú por esa carretera a menudo?
Did you often drive on that road?
tú
Él manejaba mientras ella leía el mapa.
He was driving while she read the map.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros manejábamos hasta tarde en las vacaciones.
We used to drive late into the night on vacation.
nosotros
Ellos manejaban por la ciudad cuando empezó a llover.
They were driving through the city when it started to rain.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual past actions: 'Yo manejé a la escuela cada día'.
Correct: For habitual actions in the past, use the imperfect: 'Yo manejaba a la escuela cada día'.
Why: The imperfect describes routines and repeated actions ('used to'), while the preterite describes completed actions.
Mistake: Confusing the nosotros form: 'manejaban' instead of 'manejábamos'.
Correct: The correct imperfect nosotros form is 'manejábamos'.
Why: The '-ábamos' ending is specific to the nosotros imperfect for -ar verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: manejo
Habits, actions happening now, or general truths about driving.
Preterite
yo: manejé
Completed past actions: 'I drove', 'you drove' at a specific time.
Future
yo: manejaré
Actions that will happen: 'I will drive', 'you will drive'.
Conditional
yo: manejaría
Hypotheticals ('would drive'), polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: maneje
Expressing wishes, doubts, or emotions about driving: 'I want you to drive...'.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: manejara
Past hypotheticals or wishes, like 'if I drove...' or 'I wish you would drive...'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: maneja
Direct commands like 'drive!' or 'let's drive!' for manejar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no manejes
Negative commands like 'don't drive!' for manejar, using the present subjunctive.