visitar Imperfect Conjugation
visitar — to visit
Describes ongoing or habitual past actions: 'visitaba' (I used to visit/was visiting).
visitar Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect tense for actions that were ongoing in the past, habitual actions in the past ('used to visit'), or to set the scene/background description. It doesn't focus on completion.
Notes on visitar in the Imperfect
'Visitar' is regular in the imperfect tense. You take the stem 'visit-' and add the standard imperfect endings.
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, visitaba a mis tíos en el campo.
When I was a child, I used to visit my aunt and uncle in the countryside.
yo
¿Tú visitabas la biblioteca a menudo?
Did you often visit the library?
tú
Ella visitaba a su abuela todos los días.
She was visiting her grandmother every day.
él/ella/usted
Antes, nosotros visitábamos a nuestros primos cada verano.
Before, we used to visit our cousins every summer.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single, completed past action.
Correct: For completed actions, use the preterite: 'visitamos' (we visited), not 'visitábamos' (we were visiting / used to visit).
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual actions, not specific, finished events.
Mistake: Confusing 'visitaba' (yo) with 'visitaba' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: These forms are identical. Context or explicit subject pronouns ('yo', 'él', 'ella', 'usted') are needed to differentiate.
Why: The verb conjugation is the same for 'yo' and the third-person singular in the imperfect tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: visito
Describes current actions, habits, or general truths: 'visito' (I visit), 'visitas' (you visit).
Preterite
yo: visité
Completed past actions: 'visité' (I visited), 'visitaste' (you visited), 'visitó' (he/she visited).
Future
yo: visitaré
Talks about future actions: 'visitaré' (I will visit), 'visitarás' (you will visit).
Conditional
yo: visitaría
Expresses hypotheticals ('would visit') or polite requests: 'visitaría' (I would visit).
Present Subjunctive
yo: visite
Expresses wishes, doubts, or emotions, like 'Quiero que visites' (I want you to visit).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: visitara
Used for past hypotheticals or wishes, like 'si visitara' (if I visited) or 'ojalá visitara' (I wish I visited).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: visita
Direct commands with 'visita' (tú) and 'visite' (usted) being common.
Negative Imperative
yo: no visites
Negative commands use the present subjunctive with 'no', like 'no visites' (tú) and 'no visite' (usted).