prohibir Imperfect Conjugation
prohibir — to forbid
The imperfect of prohibir is regular: prohibía, prohibías, prohibía, prohibíamos, prohibíais, prohibían.
prohibir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe rules that used to exist or things that were forbidden habitually in the past.
Notes on prohibir in the Imperfect
It follows the standard -ir imperfect pattern. Every single form has an accent on the first 'í' of the ending.
Example Sentences
Antes, prohibían comer en la biblioteca.
Before, they used to forbid eating in the library.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Mi abuelo me prohibía decir malas palabras.
My grandfather used to forbid me from saying bad words.
él/ella/usted
En esa época prohibíamos las cámaras.
In those days we used to forbid cameras.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: prohibia (no accent).
Correct: prohibía
Why: All -ir verbs in the imperfect must have an accent on the 'í' to distinguish the sound and the tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: prohíbo
In the present tense, prohibir adds accents to the 'í' in most forms: prohíbo, prohíbes, prohíbe, prohibimos, prohibís, prohíben.
Preterite
yo: prohibí
The preterite of prohibir is regular: prohibí, prohibiste, prohibió, prohibimos, prohibisteis, prohibieron.
Future
yo: prohibiré
The future tense of prohibir is regular: prohibiré, prohibirás, prohibirá, prohibiremos, prohibiréis, prohibirán.
Conditional
yo: prohibiría
The conditional of prohibir is regular: prohibiría, prohibirías, prohibiría, prohibiríamos, prohibiríais, prohibirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: prohíba
Prohibir uses the present subjunctive forms: prohíba, prohíbas, prohíba, prohibamos, prohibáis, prohíban.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: prohibiera
The imperfect subjunctive of prohibir uses the -ra endings: prohibiera, prohibieras, prohibiera, prohibiéramos, prohibierais, prohibieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: prohíbe
The affirmative imperative forms are: prohíbe (tú), prohíba (usted), prohibamos (nosotros), prohibid (vosotros), prohíban (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no prohíbas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no prohíbas, no prohíba, no prohibamos, no prohibáis, no prohíban.