
plantear Imperfect Conjugation
plantear — to suggest or bring up
Use 'planteaba', 'planteabas', 'planteaba', 'planteábamos', 'planteabais', 'planteaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
plantear Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
The imperfect tense describes ongoing actions or habitual behaviors in the past. It's used for background descriptions or when you want to emphasize the duration or repetition of an action, like 'He used to suggest...' or 'She was bringing up...'.
Notes on plantear in the Imperfect
Plantea is regular in the imperfect tense, following the standard -ar verb conjugation.
Example Sentences
Cuando era joven, yo planteaba muchas ideas.
When I was young, I used to suggest many ideas.
yo
¿Tú planteabas el mismo problema cada vez?
Were you bringing up the same problem every time?
tú
Ella planteaba sus dudas con calma.
She was raising her doubts calmly.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros planteábamos un nuevo proyecto cada año.
We used to propose a new project every year.
nosotros
Ellos planteaban escenarios hipotéticos.
They were suggesting hypothetical scenarios.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite for habitual past actions.
Correct: For habitual or ongoing past actions, use the imperfect: 'Yo planteaba...' instead of 'Yo planteé...'.
Why: The imperfect describes the continuous or repeated nature of past actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Confusing the 'vosotros' form.
Correct: The vosotros form is 'planteabais'.
Why: This ending is specific to the vosotros imperfect conjugation.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'plantear' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: planteo
Use 'planto', 'plantes', 'plantea', 'planteamos', 'planteáis', 'plantean' for actions happening now or habitual actions.
Preterite
yo: planteé
Use 'planteé', 'planteaste', 'planteó', 'planteamos', 'planteasteis', 'plantearon' for completed past actions.
Future
yo: plantearé
Use 'plantearé', 'plantearás', 'planteará', 'plantearemos', 'plantearéis', 'plantearán' for future actions or probability.
Conditional
yo: plantearía
Use 'plantearía', 'plantearías', 'plantearía', 'plantearíamos', 'plantearíais', 'plantearían' for hypotheticals ('would') or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: plantee
Use 'plantee', 'plantes', 'planteemos', 'planteéis', 'planteen' after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: planteara
Use 'planteara', 'plantearas', 'plantearamos', 'plantearais', 'plantearan' for past wishes, hypotheticals, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: plantea
Use 'plantea', 'plantee', 'planteemos', 'plantead', 'planteen' for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no plantees
Use 'no + present subjunctive' forms like 'no plantees', 'no plantee', 'no planteemos', 'no planteéis', 'no planteen' for negative commands.