sonar Imperfect Conjugation
sonar — to ring
The imperfect of sonar is regular: sonaba, sonabas, sonaba, sonábamos, sonabais, sonaban.
sonar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a sound that was ongoing in the past, or a habitual sound (like a phone that used to ring constantly).
Notes on sonar in the Imperfect
Sonar follows the standard -ar verb pattern in the imperfect. There is no stem change.
Example Sentences
La música sonaba mientras estudiábamos.
The music was sounding (playing) while we were studying.
él/ella/usted
Antes, las campanas sonaban cada hora.
Before, the bells used to ring every hour.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Yo sonaba el silbato todos los días.
I used to blow (sound) the whistle every day.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'sonábamos'.
Correct: sonábamos
Why: The 'nosotros' form of all -ar verbs in the imperfect requires an accent on the first 'a' of the ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sueno
Sonar is a stem-changing verb where the 'o' becomes 'ue' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: soné
The preterite of sonar is regular: soné, sonaste, sonó, sonamos, sonasteis, sonaron.
Future
yo: sonaré
The future of sonar is regular: sonaré, sonarás, sonará, sonaremos, sonaréis, sonarán.
Conditional
yo: sonaría
The conditional of sonar is regular: sonaría, sonarías, sonaría, sonaríamos, sonaríais, sonarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: suene
The present subjunctive of sonar features the o > ue stem change: suene, suenes, suene, sonemos, sonéis, suenen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sonara
The imperfect subjunctive of sonar is regular: sonara, sonaras, sonara, sonáramos, sonarais, sonaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ¡Suena!
Use the imperative to command someone to make something sound: ¡suena! (tú), ¡suene! (usted), ¡sonad! (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: ¡No suenes!
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no suenes, no suene, no sonemos, no sonéis, no suenen.