tropezar Imperfect Conjugation
tropezar — to trip
Tropezar is completely regular in the imperfect tense: tropezaba, tropezabas, tropezaba...
tropezar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use this to describe a past habit of being clumsy or to set the scene (e.g., 'I was tripping over everything while I was walking').
Notes on tropezar in the Imperfect
There are no stem changes or spelling changes in the imperfect for this verb.
Example Sentences
De niño, tropezaba con todo.
As a child, I used to trip over everything.
yo
Ellas tropezaban a menudo por llevar tacones.
They used to trip often because they wore heels.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Tropezábamos cada vez que subíamos esa escalera.
We would trip every time we went up those stairs.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Adding an 'ie' stem change (tropiezaba).
Correct: tropezaba
Why: Stem changes like e-to-ie do not apply to the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: tropiezo
The present of tropezar has an e-to-ie stem change (tropiezo) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: tropecé
The preterite of tropezar is regular except for the yo form, which changes to 'tropecé' to keep the sound right.
Future
yo: tropezaré
The future tense is fully regular: tropezaré, tropezarás, tropezará...
Conditional
yo: tropezaría
The conditional is fully regular: tropezaría, tropezarías, tropezaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: tropiece
The present subjunctive follows the e-to-ie stem change and the z-to-c spelling change (tropiece).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tropezara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: tropezara, tropezaras...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: tropieza
The imperative uses 'tropieza' for 'tú' and 'tropiece' for 'usted'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no tropieces
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no tropieces, no tropiece...