negar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
negar — deny
The imperfect subjunctive of negar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: negara, negaras, negara...
negar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations ('If I denied...') or after past-tense expressions of doubt or emotion.
Notes on negar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
While it uses the preterite stem 'negar-', it does not have the 'ie' stem change. It is relatively regular based on the 'negaron' root.
Example Sentences
Si yo negara el hecho, nadie me creería.
If I denied the fact, no one would believe me.
yo
Me sorprendió que negaran la evidencia.
It surprised me that they denied the evidence.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Queríamos que negaras ese rumor.
We wanted you to deny that rumor.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: niegara
Correct: negara
Why: The imperfect subjunctive never uses the 'ie' stem change from the present tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: niego
Negar is a stem-changer (e > ie) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: negué
Negar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (negué) to keep the hard 'g' sound, but is otherwise regular.
Imperfect
yo: negaba
Negar is completely regular in the imperfect: negaba, negabas, negaba...
Future
yo: negaré
Negar is completely regular in the future tense; just add the endings to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: negaría
The conditional of negar is regular: negaría, negarías, negaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: niegue
The present subjunctive of negar features both a stem change (ie) and a spelling change (gu).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: niega
Use 'niega' (tú) or 'niegue' (usted) to command someone to deny something.
Negative Imperative
yo: no niegues
The negative imperative of negar uses 'no' + present subjunctive forms.