responder Imperfect Conjugation
responder — answer
The imperfect of responder is regular: respondía, respondías, respondía, respondíamos, respondíais, respondían.
responder Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe ongoing or habitual responses in the past, or to set the scene when someone was in the process of answering before being interrupted.
Notes on responder in the Imperfect
Responder is completely regular in the imperfect. All -er verbs in this tense use the -ía endings with a mandatory accent on the 'i'.
Example Sentences
Él siempre respondía mis correos muy rápido.
He always used to answer my emails very quickly.
él/ella/usted
Mientras yo respondía el teléfono, sonó el timbre.
While I was answering the phone, the doorbell rang.
yo
Nosotros respondíamos las cartas cada viernes.
We used to answer the letters every Friday.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent mark on the 'i' (e.g., respondia).
Correct: Always include the accent: respondía.
Why: Every single person in the -er/-ir imperfect conjugation requires an accent on the 'i' to maintain the correct stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: respondo
The present of responder is regular: respondo, respondes, responde, respondemos, respondéis, responden.
Preterite
yo: respondí
The preterite of responder is regular: respondí, respondiste, respondió, respondimos, respondisteis, respondieron.
Future
yo: responderé
The future of responder is regular: responderé, responderás, responderá, responderemos, responderéis, responderán.
Conditional
yo: respondería
The conditional of responder is regular: respondería, responderías, respondería, responderíamos, responderíais, responderían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: responda
The present subjunctive of responder is regular: responda, respondas, responda, respondamos, respondáis, respondan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: respondiera
The imperfect subjunctive of responder is: respondiera, respondieras, respondiera, respondiéramos, respondierais, respondieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: responde
The affirmative imperative of responder is: responde (tú), responda (usted), respondamos (nosotros), responded (vosotros), respondan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no respondas
Negative commands for responder use the subjunctive: no respondas, no responda, no respondamos, no respondáis, no respondan.