sellar Imperfect Conjugation
sellar — to stamp
The imperfect of sellar ('sellaba', 'sellabas', 'sellaba', etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
sellar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe actions that were happening continuously in the past, or things you used to do regularly. Think of background descriptions or habits: 'I used to stamp letters every day' or 'The machine was stamping tickets when the power went out'.
Notes on sellar in the Imperfect
Sellar is regular in the imperfect indicative tense. The stem 'sell-' remains the same, and the standard imperfect endings for -ar verbs are used.
Example Sentences
Yo sellaba los sobres antes de que existieran las etiquetas adhesivas.
I used to stamp the envelopes before self-adhesive labels existed.
yo
¿Tú sellabas las entradas en cada evento?
Did you used to stamp the tickets at every event?
tú
Ella sellaba los documentos con un sello personalizado.
She used to stamp the documents with a personalized seal.
él/ella/usted
Cuando era niño, sellábamos las cartas para jugar al cartero.
When I was a child, we used to stamp letters to play postman.
nosotros
Ellos sellaban los pasaportes en la frontera.
They used to stamp the passports at the border.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite ('selló') for an ongoing or habitual past action.
Correct: For actions that were routine or continuous in the past, use the imperfect like 'sellaba'.
Why: The imperfect describes the background or duration, while the preterite describes a completed event.
Mistake: Confusing the nosotros imperfect 'sellábamos' with the preterite 'sellamos'.
Correct: The imperfect form has an accent on the 'a' and ends in '-ábamos'.
Why: The accent and ending clearly distinguish the ongoing past action from the completed past action.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sello
The present tense of sellar ('sello', 'sellas', 'sella', etc.) describes habitual actions, what's happening now, or general truths.
Preterite
yo: sellé
The preterite of sellar is regular: sellé, sellaste, selló, sellamos, sellasteis, sellaron.
Future
yo: sellaré
The future tense of sellar ('sellará', 'sellaremos', etc.) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: sellaría
The conditional of sellar ('sellaría', 'sellarías', etc.) is used for hypotheticals ('would stamp') and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: selle
The present subjunctive ('selles', 'selle', 'sellemos', etc.) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sellara
The imperfect subjunctive ('sellara' or 'sellase') expresses hypothetical situations or wishes in the past.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sella
Use 'sella' (tú), 'selle' (usted), 'sellemos' (nosotros), 'sellen' (ustedes), 'sellad' (vosotros) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no selles
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: 'no selles' (tú), 'no selle' (usted), 'no sellemos' (nosotros), 'no sellen' (ustedes), 'no selléis' (vosotros).