tragar Imperfect Conjugation
tragar — to swallow
The imperfect of tragar is fully regular: tragaba, tragabas, tragaba, tragábamos, tragabais, tragaban.
tragar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this for habitual actions in the past, like a child who always swallowed gum, or to describe an ongoing state of 'putting up with' a situation.
Notes on tragar in the Imperfect
Tragar is regular in the imperfect. Note the accent only on the nosotros form (tragábamos).
Example Sentences
De niño, yo siempre me tragaba el chicle.
As a child, I always used to swallow my gum.
yo
Ellos tragaban aire porque estaban muy nerviosos.
They were gulping air because they were very nervous.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Tragábamos saliva mientras esperábamos los resultados.
We were swallowing hard while we waited for the results.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'tragábamos'.
Correct: tragábamos
Why: All -ar verbs in the imperfect require an accent on the 'a' in the nosotros form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: trago
The present tense of tragar is regular in all forms: trago, tragas, traga, tragamos, tragáis, tragan.
Preterite
yo: tragué
The preterite of tragar features a spelling change in the 'yo' form (tragué) to keep the hard 'g' sound.
Future
yo: tragaré
The future of tragar is regular: tragaré, tragarás, tragará, tragaremos, tragaréis, tragarán.
Conditional
yo: tragaría
The conditional of tragar is regular: tragaría, tragarías, tragaría, tragaríamos, tragaríais, tragarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: trague
The present subjunctive of tragar uses a 'gu' spelling in all forms: trague, tragues, trague, traguemos, traguéis, traguen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tragara
The imperfect subjunctive of tragar is regular based on the preterite stem: tragara, tragaras, tragara, tragáramos, tragarais, tragaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: traga
The imperative of tragar gives commands: traga (tú), tragad (vosotros), trague (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no tragues
The negative imperative of tragar uses the 'gu' spelling: no tragues, no trague, no traguemos, no traguéis, no traguen.