servir Imperfect Conjugation
servir — to serve
Servir is regular in the imperfect: servía, servías, servía, servíamos, servíais, servían.
servir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe habitual serving (like a childhood chore) or to describe how something used to be useful.
Notes on servir in the Imperfect
There are no stem changes in the imperfect for -ir verbs. It follows the standard -ía endings.
Example Sentences
Antes, este mando servía para la televisión.
Before, this remote used to work for the TV.
él/ella/usted
Ellos servían la cena muy tarde en ese hotel.
They used to serve dinner very late in that hotel.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sirvía
Correct: servía
Why: The e > i stem change does not apply to the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sirvo
Servir is a stem-changer (e > i) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: serví
Servir has a 'slipper' stem change (e > i) in the third-person forms: sirvió and sirvieron.
Future
yo: serviré
Servir is completely regular in the future tense; just add the endings to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: serviría
The conditional of servir is regular: serviría, servirías, serviría, serviríamos, serviríais, servirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sirva
Servir changes e > i in all forms of the present subjunctive, including nosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sirviera
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the 'sirvieron' stem: sirviera, sirvieras, sirviera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sirve
Use 'sirve' (tú) or 'sirva' (usted) to tell someone to serve or function.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sirvas
Negative commands use 'no' + the present subjunctive: no sirvas, no sirva.