rodar Imperfect Conjugation
rodar — to roll
Ongoing or habitual past actions: 'rodaba' (I used to roll), 'rodaban' (they used to roll).
rodar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect for actions that were happening continuously in the past, or things you used to do regularly. It sets the scene: 'Mientras el coche rodaba por la carretera...' (While the car was rolling down the road...).
Notes on rodar in the Imperfect
Rodar is regular in the imperfect tense. All the endings are standard for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo rodaba por el suelo cuando era niño.
I used to roll on the floor when I was a child.
yo
El camión rodaba lentamente por la calle.
The truck was rolling slowly down the street.
él/ella/usted
Ellos rodaban las cajas al almacén.
They used to roll the boxes to the warehouse.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Vosotros rodabais muy rápido en patines.
You all used to roll very fast on skates.
vosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite 'rodó' for an ongoing past action.
Correct: Use the imperfect 'rodaba' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Why: The preterite is for completed actions, the imperfect for descriptions or continuous actions in the past.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'rodábamos' (nosotros).
Correct: The nosotros form is 'rodábamos' with an accent on the 'a'.
Why: The accent is needed to indicate the correct stress on the syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: rodo
Actions happening now or habitually: 'ruedo' (I roll), 'rueda' (it rolls).
Preterite
yo: rodé
Completed past actions like 'rodé' (I rolled) or 'rodó' (it rolled).
Future
yo: rodaré
Future actions: 'rodaré' (I will roll), 'rodará' (it will roll).
Conditional
yo: rodaría
Hypotheticals ('would'), polite requests: 'rodaría' (I would roll).
Present Subjunctive
yo: rode
Present subjunctive for wishes, doubts, or emotions like 'espero que ruede' (I hope it rolls).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: rodara
Past subjunctive for hypotheticals like 'if it would roll' (si rodara).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: roda
Commands like 'roda!' (roll!) or 'roden!' (they roll! - command).
Negative Imperative
yo: no rodas
Negative commands like 'no ruedes!' (don't roll!) or 'no rueden!' (don't they roll! - command).