restaurar Imperfect Conjugation

When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect tense to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past, or to set the scene. For 'restaurar', you might say, 'Cuando era joven, restauraba coches' (When I was young, I used to restore cars) or 'La luz restauraba el color de las paredes' (The light restored the color of the walls - describing the scene).

Notes on restaurar in the Imperfect

Restaurar is regular in the imperfect indicative tense.

Example Sentences

• Yo restauraba muebles viejos en mi taller.

  I used to restore old furniture in my workshop.

  yo

• ¿Tú restaurabas la casa cuando vivías allí?

  Were you restoring the house when you lived there?

  tú

• Él restauraba la paz después de cada discusión.

  He used to restore peace after every argument.

  él/ella/usted

• Ellos restauraban la antigua iglesia.

  They were restoring the old church.

  ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Using the imperfect 'restauraba' for a single, completed action in the past.

  Correct: For a specific completed action, use the preterite: 'Restauré el libro' (I restored the book), not 'Restauraba el libro'.

  Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, not finished ones.

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

  Correct: Both are 'restauraba', but context clarifies who is performing the action.

  Why: This is a common feature of the imperfect tense for -ar verbs; the subject pronoun or context is crucial.

Related Tenses