saludar Imperfect Conjugation
saludar — to greet
The imperfect of saludar follows the standard -aba pattern: saludaba, saludabas, saludaba, saludábamos, saludabais, saludaban.
saludar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a habit of greeting someone in the past, or to set the scene (e.g., 'I was greeting the guests when the phone rang').
Notes on saludar in the Imperfect
Saludar is regular in the imperfect. Remember the accent only on the 'nosotros' form: saludábamos.
Example Sentences
De niño, siempre saludaba a los carteros.
As a child, I always used to greet the mailmen.
yo
Nosotros saludábamos a todos los que pasaban.
We used to greet everyone who passed by.
nosotros
Tú siempre saludabas con mucha energía.
You always used to greet people with a lot of energy.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite for a repeated childhood habit.
Correct: Use 'saludaba' instead of 'saludé' for ongoing past habits.
Why: Learners often use the preterite for all past actions, but habits require the imperfect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: saludo
The present tense of saludar is regular: saludo, saludas, saluda, saludamos, saludáis, saludan.
Preterite
yo: saludé
Saludar in the preterite is regular: saludé, saludaste, saludó, saludamos, saludasteis, saludaron.
Future
yo: saludaré
The future of saludar uses the infinitive plus endings: saludaré, saludarás, saludará, saludaremos, saludaréis, saludarán.
Conditional
yo: saludaría
The conditional of saludar is regular: saludaría, saludarías, saludaría, saludaríamos, saludaríais, saludarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: salude
The present subjunctive of saludar swaps the -ar endings for -e: salude, saludes, salude, saludemos, saludéis, saluden.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: saludara
The imperfect subjunctive of saludar is formed from the 'ellos' preterite: saludara, saludaras, saludara, saludáramos, saludarais, saludaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: saluda
The imperative of saludar gives commands: saluda (tú), salude (usted), saludemos (nosotros), saludad (vosotros), saluden (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no saludes
The negative imperative of saludar uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no saludes, no salude, no saludemos, no saludéis, no saluden.