volver Imperfect Conjugation
volver — to return
The imperfect of volver is regular: volvía, volvías, volvía, volvíamos, volvíais, volvían.
volver Imperfect Forms
When to Use the Imperfect
Use the imperfect to describe a return that used to happen habitually in the past, or to set the scene (e.g., 'I was returning home when...').
Notes on volver in the Imperfect
Volver is regular in the imperfect. All -er verbs in this tense use the -ía endings.
Example Sentences
De niño, yo volvía a casa caminando.
As a child, I used to return home walking.
yo
Volvíamos de la playa cuando empezó a llover.
We were returning from the beach when it started to rain.
nosotros
Mis abuelos siempre volvían al mismo hotel.
My grandparents always returned to the same hotel.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'i' (volvia).
Correct: volvía
Why: All forms of -er verbs in the imperfect require a written accent on the 'í'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: vuelvo
Volver is an o:ue stem-changing verb in the present: vuelvo, vuelves, vuelve, volvemos, volvéis, vuelven.
Preterite
yo: volví
The preterite of volver is regular in its endings, describing a completed return: volví, volviste, volvió.
Future
yo: volveré
The future of volver is regular: volveré, volverás, volverá, volveremos, volveréis, volverán.
Conditional
yo: volvería
The conditional of volver is regular: volvería, volverías, volvería, volveríamos, volveríais, volverían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: vuelva
Volver maintains its o:ue stem change in the subjunctive: vuelva, vuelvas, vuelva, volvamos, volváis, vuelvan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: volviera
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the preterite 'volvieron': volviera, volvieras, volviera, volviéramos, volvierais, volvieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: vuelve
The imperative uses 'vuelve' for informal commands and 'vuelva' for formal ones.
Negative Imperative
yo: no vuelvas
Negative commands for volver use the present subjunctive: no vuelvas, no vuelva, no volvamos, no volváis, no vuelvan.