regañar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
regañar — to scold
The imperfect subjunctive of regañar is regañara or regañase (e.g., yo regañara, tú regañaras, él regañara).
regañar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is used for hypothetical situations in the past, wishes, or polite requests that didn't necessarily happen. Think 'if I were to scold...' or 'I wish you wouldn't scold...'.
Notes on regañar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
Regañar is regular in the imperfect subjunctive. You can use either the -ra or -se endings (e.g., regañara or regañase), though -ra is more common in many regions.
Example Sentences
Si yo regañara a mi hijo, él lloraría mucho.
If I were to scold my son, he would cry a lot.
yo
Me gustaría que no regañaras tanto a los perros.
I wish you wouldn't scold the dogs so much.
tú
El profesor actuó como si regañara a toda la clase.
The teacher acted as if he were scolding the whole class.
él/ella/usted
Ojalá ellos no regañaran por tonterías.
Hopefully, they wouldn't scold over silly things.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect subjunctive.
Correct: For past hypotheticals or wishes, use 'regañara' or 'regañase', not 'regañé' or 'regañó'.
Why: The imperfect subjunctive specifically handles unreal or hypothetical past situations, while the preterite describes completed actions.
Mistake: Confusing the -ra and -se forms.
Correct: Both 'regañara' and 'regañase' are correct imperfect subjunctive forms, but 'regañara' is generally more common.
Why: While interchangeable in meaning, regional preferences and stylistic choices might favor one over the other.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'regañar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: regaño
The present tense of regañar is regular: regaño, regañas, regaña, regañamos, regañáis, regañan.
Preterite
yo: regañé
The preterite of regañar is regular: regañé, regañaste, regañó, regañamos, regañasteis, regañaron.
Imperfect
yo: regañaba
The imperfect of regañar is regular: regañaba, regañabas, regañaba, regañábamos, regañabais, regañaban.
Future
yo: regañaré
The future tense of regañar is regular: regañaré, regañarás, regañará, regañaremos, regañaréis, regañarán.
Conditional
yo: regañaría
The conditional of regañar is regular: regañaría, regañarías, regañaría, regañaríamos, regañaríais, regañarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: regañe
The present subjunctive of regañar is regañe (yo, él/ella/usted), regañes (tú), regañemos (nosotros), regañéis (vosotros), regañen (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: regaña
Use 'regaña' for tú commands, 'regañe' for usted, 'regañemos' for nosotros, 'regañad' for vosotros, and 'regañen' for ustedes.
Negative Imperative
yo: no regañes
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no regañes (tú), no regañe (usted), no regañemos (nosotros), no regañéis (vosotros), no regañen (ustedes).