vacilar Imperfect Conjugation
vacilar — to tease
Use the imperfect 'vacilaba' (I used to tease) for past habits or ongoing teasing, like 'He always used to tease me.'
vacilar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
The imperfect is for describing past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or set the scene. Think of describing a past situation: 'When we were kids, my brother always used to tease me,' or 'While I was talking, they were teasing each other in the background.' It paints a picture of past reality without focusing on completion.
Notes on vacilar in the Imperfect
Vacilar is regular in the imperfect tense. All conjugations follow the standard -ar pattern.
Example Sentences
Cuando éramos niños, mi hermano me vacilaba mucho.
When we were kids, my brother used to tease me a lot.
él/ella/usted
Yo no te vacilaba en serio.
I wasn't teasing you seriously.
yo
Mientras estudiábamos, ellos se vacilaban.
While we were studying, they were teasing each other.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Tú siempre vacilabas a tus amigos.
You always used to tease your friends.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite instead of the imperfect for habitual past actions.
Correct: For 'He always teased me,' use 'Él siempre me vacilaba,' not 'Él siempre me vaciló.'
Why: The imperfect describes repeated or ongoing actions in the past, while the preterite describes completed actions.
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single, completed teasing incident.
Correct: For 'He teased me once,' use 'Él me vaciló,' not 'Él me vacilaba.'
Why: The imperfect doesn't convey the sense of completion that the preterite does.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: vacilo
Use the present 'vacilo' (I tease), 'vacilas' (you tease), 'vacila' (he/she/you tease) for current teasing or habitual teasing.
Preterite
yo: vacilé
Use the preterite 'vacilé' (I teased), 'vacilaste' (you teased), 'vaciló' (he/she/you teased) for completed past teasing actions.
Future
yo: vacilaré
Use the future 'vacilaré' (I will tease) and 'vacilará' (he/she/you will tease) for predictions or definite future teasing.
Conditional
yo: vacilaría
Use the conditional 'vacilaría' (I would tease) for hypotheticals, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: vacile
Use 'vacile' (yo/él/ella/usted) and 'vacilen' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for wishes, doubts, and emotions, like 'I hope you don't tease me.'
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: vacilara
Use 'vacilara' or 'vacilase' for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests, like 'If I teased you...'
Affirmative Imperative
yo: vacila
Use the imperative 'vacila' (tú) and 'vacilen' (ustedes) for direct commands like 'tease him!'
Negative Imperative
yo: no vaciles
Use 'no vaciles' (tú) and 'no vacilen' (ustedes) for negative commands, like 'don't tease him!'