perder Imperfect Conjugation
perder — to lose
The imperfect of perder is regular: perdía, perdías, perdía, perdíamos, perdíais, perdían.
perder Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for ongoing past states or habits, like 'I used to lose my toys' or 'He was losing his hair.'
Notes on perder in the Imperfect
Perder follows the standard -er verb pattern in the imperfect. All forms have an accent on the 'í'.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo perdía todos mis juguetes.
As a child, I used to lose all my toys.
yo
Sentíamos que perdíamos el control.
We felt like we were losing control.
nosotros
Ustedes perdían dinero cada mes.
You all were losing money every month.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent: 'perdia'.
Correct: perdía
Why: All -er and -ir verbs require an accent on the 'i' in the imperfect ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: pierdo
Perder is an e-to-ie stem-changing verb (pierdo, pierdes, pierde, pierden) except for nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: perdí
The preterite of perder is regular: perdí, perdiste, perdió, perdimos, perdisteis, perdieron.
Future
yo: perderé
The future of perder is regular: perderé, perderás, perderá, perderemos, perderéis, perderán.
Conditional
yo: perdería
The conditional of perder is regular: perdería, perderías, perdería, perderíamos, perderíais, perderían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: pierda
The present subjunctive follows the e-to-ie change: pierda, pierdas, pierda, perdamos, perdáis, pierdan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: perdiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'perdier-' stem: perdiera, perdieras, perdiera, perdiéramos, perdierais, perdieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: pierde
Direct commands to lose or not lose: pierde (tú), pierda (usted), perdamos (nosotros), perded (vosotros), pierdan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no pierdas
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no pierdas, no pierda, no perdamos, no perdáis, no pierdan.