regañar Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect to describe habitual scolding in the past ('He used to scold me often') or to set the scene, describing what was happening when something else occurred ('While I was playing, my mom scolded me').

Notes on regañar in the Imperfect

Regañar is regular in the imperfect tense. All -ar verbs follow this pattern.

Example Sentences

• Cuando era niño, mi abuelo me regañaba por no comer verduras.

  When I was a child, my grandfather used to scold me for not eating vegetables.

  él/ella/usted

• Antes, los maestros regañaban mucho a los alumnos.

  Before, teachers used to scold students a lot.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

• Tú siempre me regañabas por dejar la luz encendida.

  You always used to scold me for leaving the light on.

  tú

• Mientras estudiábamos, nuestros padres nos regañaban si hacíamos ruido.

  While we were studying, our parents would scold us if we made noise.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual past actions.

  Correct: Use 'regañaba' for 'He used to scold', not 'regañó'.

  Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or repeated actions in the past, setting a background. The preterite describes a single, completed action.

• Mistake: Confusing the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.

  Correct: Both 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' use 'regañaba'.

  Why: Unlike the preterite, the imperfect tense has identical forms for these persons for regular -ar verbs.

Related Tenses