perecer Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
perecer — to perish
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the third-person plural preterite stem: pereciera, perecieras, pereciera, pereciéramos, perecierais, perecieran.
perecer Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations or past emotions regarding something perishing, such as 'If the crops were to perish, we would be hungry.'
Notes on perecer in the Imperfect Subjunctive
While the present tense is irregular, the imperfect subjunctive is actually regular based on its preterite stem 'perecie-'.
Example Sentences
Si pereciera la lengua, se perdería la cultura.
If the language were to perish, the culture would be lost.
él/ella/usted
Me dio pena que perecieran tantos árboles.
It made me sad that so many trees perished.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Si nosotros pereciéramos aquí, nadie lo sabría.
If we were to perish here, nobody would know.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'perezca' in a past context.
Correct: pereciera
Why: After a past tense main verb like 'quería' or 'temía', you must use the imperfect subjunctive, not the present.
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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.
Imperfect
yo: perecía
The imperfect is regular for -er verbs: perecía, perecías, perecía, perecíamos, perecíais, perecían.
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.
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.