prever Imperfect Conjugation
prever — to foresee
The imperfect of prever uses the double 'e' pattern: preveía, preveías, preveía, preveíamos, preveíais, preveían.
prever Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for ongoing anticipation in the past or to describe a state of foresight that didn't have a specific end time.
Notes on prever in the Imperfect
It follows the irregular imperfect of 'ver' (veía), but since the prefix ends in 'e', you get 'preveía'.
Example Sentences
Antes, yo preveía los problemas con facilidad.
Before, I used to foresee problems with ease.
yo
Ellos preveían que esto pasaría.
They were foreseeing that this would happen.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Tú preveías un futuro mejor.
You were envisioning a better future.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'prevía'.
Correct: preveía
Why: The verb must keep the 'e' from the stem 'preve-' before adding the 'ía' ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: preveo
The present tense of prever mimics 'ver': preveo, prevés, prevé, prevemos, prevéis, prevén.
Preterite
yo: preví
The preterite of prever is irregular, following 'ver': preví, previste, previó, previmos, previsteis, previeron.
Future
yo: preveré
The future of prever is regular based on the infinitive: preveré, preverás, preverá, preveremos, preveréis, preverán.
Conditional
yo: prevería
The conditional of prever is regular: prevería, preverías, prevería, preveríamos, preveríais, preverían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: prevea
The present subjunctive of prever follows the pattern of 'ver': prevea, preveas, prevea, preveamos, preveáis, prevean.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: previera
The imperfect subjunctive of prever uses the -ra or -se endings: previera, previeras, previera, previéramos, previerais, previeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: prevé
The affirmative imperative commands someone to anticipate: prevé (tú), prevea (usted), preveamos (nosotros), preved (vosotros), prevean (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no preveas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no preveas, no prevea, no preveamos, no preveáis, no prevean.