obtener Imperfect Conjugation
obtener — to obtain
Obtener is completely regular in the imperfect: obtenía, obtenías, obtenía, obteníamos, obteníais, obtenían.
obtener Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe how you used to get things or the process of obtaining something that was ongoing in the past.
Notes on obtener in the Imperfect
Despite being irregular in almost every other tense, obtener is 100% regular in the imperfect.
Example Sentences
Antes, obteníamos la leche directamente de la granja.
Before, we used to get the milk directly from the farm.
nosotros
Él obtenía buenas notas sin estudiar mucho.
He used to get good grades without studying much.
él/ella/usted
En ese tiempo, yo obtenía mucha experiencia.
At that time, I was gaining a lot of experience.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: obtenia
Correct: obtenía
Why: All forms of -er verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'í'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: obtengo
Obtener is a 'yo-go' verb with an e-ie stem change: obtengo, obtienes, obtiene, obtenemos, obtenéis, obtienen.
Preterite
yo: obtuve
Obtener uses the irregular 'uv' stem in the preterite: obtuve, obtuviste, obtuvo, obtuvimos, obtuvisteis, obtuvieron.
Future
yo: obtendré
Obtener uses the irregular stem 'obtendr-': obtendré, obtendrás, obtendrá, obtendremos, obtendréis, obtendrán.
Conditional
yo: obtendría
The conditional uses the irregular stem 'obtendr-': obtendría, obtendrías, obtendría, obtendríamos, obtendríais, obtendrían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: obtenga
The present subjunctive is built from the 'yo' form: obtenga, obtengas, obtenga, obtengamos, obtengáis, obtengan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: obtuviera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'obtuv-' stem: obtuviera, obtuvieras, obtuviera, obtuviéramos, obtuvierais, obtuvieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: obtén
The imperative uses the short form 'obtén' for tú: obtén, obtenga, obtengamos, obtened, obtengan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no obtengas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive: no obtengas, no obtenga, no obtengamos, no obtengáis, no obtengan.