perecer Imperfect Conjugation
perecer — to perish
The imperfect is regular for -er verbs: perecía, perecías, perecía, perecíamos, perecíais, perecían.
perecer Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe a state of perishing in the past, or to set the scene (e.g., 'The empire was perishing while the king slept').
Notes on perecer in the Imperfect
Perecer is regular in the imperfect. Note the accent on the 'í' in all endings.
Example Sentences
El reino perecía bajo la tiranía.
The kingdom was perishing under the tyranny.
él/ella/usted
Las esperanzas perecían poco a poco.
Hopes were perishing little by little.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Sentíamos que perecíamos de hambre.
We felt like we were perishing of hunger.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent mark on the 'i'.
Correct: perecía
Why: All -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect indicative require an accent on the 'i' to maintain the correct stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: perezco
The present indicative is regular except for the 'yo' form: perezco.
Preterite
yo: perecí
The preterite of perecer is regular: perecí, pereciste, pereció, perecimos, perecisteis, perecieron.
Future
yo: pereceré
The future tense is fully regular: pereceré, perecerás, perecerá, pereceremos, pereceréis, perecerán.
Conditional
yo: perecería
The conditional is regular: perecería, perecerías, perecería, pereceríamos, pereceríais, perecerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: perezca
The present subjunctive of perecer features a 'z' before the 'c' in all forms: perezca, perezcas, perezca, perezcamos, perezcáis, perezcan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: pereciera
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite stem: pereciera, perecieras, pereciera, pereciéramos, perecierais, perecieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: perece
The imperative uses 'perece' (tú) and 'pereced' (vosotros), while other forms use the 'zc' subjunctive stem.
Negative Imperative
yo: no perezcas
The negative imperative always uses the 'zc' subjunctive forms: no perezcas, no perezca, no perezcamos, no perezcáis, no perezcan.