matar Imperfect Conjugation
matar — to kill
The imperfect of matar follows the regular -aba pattern: mataba, matabas, mataba, matábamos, matabais, mataban.
matar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe ongoing past actions, background situations, or habits, such as how a character used to kill time or how a disease was killing people slowly.
Notes on matar in the Imperfect
Matar is completely regular in the imperfect tense. The only accent is on the nosotros form (matábamos).
Example Sentences
De niño, yo mataba insectos en el jardín.
As a child, I used to kill bugs in the garden.
yo
Antes, matábamos el tiempo caminando por el parque.
Before, we used to kill time walking through the park.
nosotros
Las deudas los mataban poco a poco.
The debts were killing them little by little.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the nosotros form.
Correct: matábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'a' of the -ábamos ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: mato
The present tense of matar is regular: mato, matas, mata, matamos, matáis, matan.
Preterite
yo: maté
The preterite of matar is regular: maté, mataste, mató, matamos, matasteis, mataron.
Future
yo: mataré
The future of matar is regular: matar + é, ás, á, emos, éis, án.
Conditional
yo: mataría
The conditional of matar is regular: mataría, matarías, mataría, mataríamos, mataríais, matarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: mate
The present subjunctive of matar uses -e endings: mate, mates, mate, matemos, matéis, maten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: matara
The imperfect subjunctive of matar is matara, mataras, matara, matáramos, matarais, mataran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: mata
The affirmative imperative of matar is: mata (tú), mate (usted), matemos (nosotros), matad (vosotros), maten (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no mates
The negative imperative of matar uses the present subjunctive: no mates, no mate, no matemos, no matéis, no maten.