pretender Imperfect Conjugation
pretender — to intend
The imperfect of pretender is: pretendía, pretendías, pretendía, pretendíamos, pretendíais, pretendían.
pretender Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe past intentions or attempts that were ongoing, habitual, or served as background information. It sets the scene for other events.
Notes on pretender in the Imperfect
Pretender is regular in the imperfect tense. The forms are standard for -er verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo pretendía estudiar medicina, pero cambié de opinión.
I intended to study medicine, but I changed my mind.
yo
¿Tú pretendías molestar a tu hermano?
Were you trying to bother your brother?
tú
Él pretendía ser el jefe.
He acted like he was the boss.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros pretendíamos ir de vacaciones cada verano.
We used to intend to go on vacation every summer.
nosotros
Ellos pretendían ganar mucho dinero.
They aimed to earn a lot of money.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single, completed past intention.
Correct: For a specific, completed intention, use the preterite ('pretendió'). For ongoing or habitual past intentions, use the imperfect ('pretendía').
Why: The imperfect describes the background or continuous aspect of past actions, while the preterite describes completed events.
Mistake: Confusing the yo and él/ella/usted forms.
Correct: Both 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' use 'pretendía'.
Why: These forms are identical and rely on context for clarity.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: pretendo
The present indicative of pretender is: pretendo, pretendes, pretende, pretendemos, pretendéis, pretenden.
Preterite
yo: pretendí
The preterite of pretender is regular: pretendí, pretendiste, pretendió, pretendimos, pretendisteis, pretendieron.
Future
yo: pretenderé
The future tense of pretender uses the infinitive stem: pretenderé, pretenderás, pretenderá, pretenderemos, pretenderéis, pretenderán.
Conditional
yo: pretendería
The conditional of pretender is: pretendería, pretenderías, pretendería, pretenderíamos, pretenderíais, pretenderían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: pretenda
The present subjunctive of pretender is: pretenda (yo/él/ella/usted), pretendamos (nosotros), pretendáis (vosotros), pretendan (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: pretendiera
The imperfect subjunctive of pretender has two forms for each pronoun: pretendiera/pretendiese, pretendieras/pretendieses, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: pretende
Imperative forms of pretender are: pretende (tú), pretenda (usted), pretendamos (nosotros), pretended (vosotros), pretendan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no pretendas
Negative commands for pretender use the present subjunctive: no pretendas (tú), no pretenda (usted), no pretendamos (nosotros), no pretendáis (vosotros), no pretendan (ustedes).