tocar Imperfect Conjugation
tocar — to touch
The imperfect of tocar is regular: tocaba, tocabas, tocaba, tocábamos, tocabais, tocaban.
tocar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe habitual past actions (like childhood music lessons) or to set the scene (while I was playing...).
Notes on tocar in the Imperfect
Tocar is regular in the imperfect. Remember the accent on the 'nosotros' form (tocábamos).
Example Sentences
De niño, yo tocaba el tambor.
As a child, I used to play the drum.
yo
Nosotros tocábamos la guitarra cada noche.
We used to play the guitar every night.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Missing the accent on tocábamos.
Correct: tocábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'o' for the nosotros form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: toco
Tocar is completely regular in the present tense: toco, tocas, toca, tocamos, tocáis, tocan.
Preterite
yo: toqué
The preterite of tocar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (toqué) to keep the hard 'c' sound.
Future
yo: tocaré
The future tense of tocar is regular, adding endings to the infinitive: tocaré, tocarás, tocará...
Conditional
yo: tocaría
The conditional of tocar is regular: tocaría, tocarías, tocaría, tocaríamos, tocaríais, tocarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: toque
The present subjunctive of tocar changes 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: toque, toques, toque, toquemos, toquéis, toquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tocara
The imperfect subjunctive of tocar is built from the 'ellos' preterite: tocara, tocaras, tocara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: toca
The imperative of tocar gives commands: toca (tú), toque (usted), tocad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no toques
Negative commands for tocar always use the 'qu' spelling: no toques, no toque, no toquen.