narrar Imperfect Conjugation
narrar — to narrate
Use 'narraba', 'narras', 'narraba', 'narrábamos', 'narrabais', 'narraban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
narrar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense to describe ongoing actions, habitual actions, or background descriptions in the past. Think of narrating something that was happening over a period of time, or something you used to do regularly.
Notes on narrar in the Imperfect
Narlar is regular in the imperfect indicative. The forms are: narraba, narrabas, narraba, narrábamos, narrabais, narraban.
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, narraba historias a mis hermanos.
When I was a child, I used to narrate stories to my brothers.
yo
Mientras tú cocinabas, él narraba el partido.
While you were cooking, he was narrating the game.
él/ella/usted
¿Qué narrabas tú en ese momento?
What were you narrating at that moment?
tú
Ellos narraban sus viajes con mucho detalle.
They used to narrate their travels with much detail.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nosotros narrábamos la misma historia una y otra vez.
We narrated the same story over and over again.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite ('narró') instead of the imperfect ('narraba') for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Correct: Use 'narraba' for past habits or ongoing actions.
Why: The imperfect describes the 'scene' or the continuous/repeated action, while the preterite marks a specific, completed event.
Mistake: Confusing the yo and él/ella/usted forms.
Correct: Both 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' use 'narraba'. Context clarifies who is narrating.
Why: This is a feature of the imperfect tense for -ar verbs; it's important to rely on context or subject pronouns.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: narro
Use 'narro', 'narras', 'narra', 'narramos', 'narráis', 'narran' for current or habitual actions.
Preterite
yo: narré
Use 'narras' for completed past actions, like 'NARRÉ la historia ayer'.
Future
yo: narraré
Use 'narraré', 'narrarás', 'narrará', etc., for actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: narraría
Use 'narraría', 'narrarías', 'narraría', etc., for hypotheticals ('would narrate').
Present Subjunctive
yo: narre
Use 'narre', 'narres', 'narremos', 'narren' for wishes, doubts, emotions, and more.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: narrara
The imperfect subjunctive of narrar uses forms like 'narrara' or 'narrase' for past hypothetical or dependent clauses.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: narra
Use 'narra', 'narre', 'narremos', 'narren', 'narrad' for direct commands with narrar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no narres
Use 'no narres', 'no narre', 'no narremos', 'no narren', 'no narréis' for negative commands.