perdonar Imperfect Conjugation
perdonar — to forgive
Perdonar is regular in the imperfect: perdonaba, perdonabas, perdonaba, perdonábamos, perdonabais, perdonaban.
perdonar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a past habit of being forgiving or an ongoing process of trying to forgive someone over time without a specific end date.
Notes on perdonar in the Imperfect
Perdonar is regular in the imperfect. Remember to add an accent on the 'á' in the nosotros form: perdonábamos.
Example Sentences
Mi abuela siempre perdonaba nuestras travesuras.
My grandmother always used to forgive our mischief.
él/ella/usted
En esa época, perdonábamos todo fácilmente.
At that time, we used to forgive everything easily.
nosotros
Tú perdonabas a todos sin pensar.
You used to forgive everyone without thinking.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing perdonaba (yo) with perdonaba (él/ella).
Correct: They are identical; use context or pronouns to clarify.
Why: The first and third person singular share the same form in the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: perdono
Perdonar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense: perdono, perdonas, perdona, perdonamos, perdonáis, perdonan.
Preterite
yo: perdoné
The preterite of perdonar is regular: perdoné, perdonaste, perdonó, perdonamos, perdonasteis, perdonaron.
Future
yo: perdonaré
For the future of perdonar, add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: perdonaría
The conditional of perdonar uses the infinitive plus -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: perdone
To form the present subjunctive of perdonar, change the -ar ending to -e: perdone, perdones, perdone, etc.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: perdonara
The imperfect subjunctive of perdonar is built from the 'ellos' preterite stem: perdonara, perdonaras, perdonara, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: perdona
The affirmative imperative of perdonar uses perdona (tú) and perdonad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no perdones
The negative imperative of perdonar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms.