vivir Imperfect Conjugation
vivir — to live
Vivir in the imperfect follows the regular -ir pattern: vivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían.
vivir Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe where you used to live habitually or to set the scene in the past. It describes the ongoing state of living somewhere without a specific end date mentioned.
Notes on vivir in the Imperfect
Vivir is regular in the imperfect. All forms carry a written accent on the first 'í' of the ending.
Example Sentences
Cuando era niño, vivía en el campo.
When I was a child, I lived (used to live) in the countryside.
yo
Nosotros vivíamos en una casa con jardín.
We used to live in a house with a garden.
nosotros
Mis abuelos vivían en este pueblo.
My grandparents lived in this town.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: vivia
Correct: vivía
Why: The imperfect endings for -ir verbs always require an accent on the 'í'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'vivir' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: vivo
Vivir is a regular -ir verb in the present: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.
Preterite
yo: viví
The preterite of vivir is regular: viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron.
Future
yo: viviré
The future of vivir uses the infinitive as the stem: viviré, vivirás, vivirá, viviremos, viviréis, vivirán.
Conditional
yo: viviría
The conditional of vivir uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: viviría, vivirías, viviría, viviríamos, viviríais, vivirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: viva
The present subjunctive of vivir uses the -a endings: viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: viviera
The imperfect subjunctive of vivir stems from 'vivieron': viviera, vivieras, viviera, viviéramos, vivierais, vivieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: vive
The imperative of vivir uses 'vive' for tú and 'viva/vivan' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no vivas
The negative imperative of vivir matches the present subjunctive: no vivas, no viva, no vivamos, no viváis, no vivan.