intentaba
een-ten-TAH-bah
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Ella intentaba abrir la caja fuerte con un clip.
A2She was trying to open the safe with a paperclip.
Cuando vivía en México, intentaba hablar español todos los días.
A2When I lived in Mexico, I used to try to speak Spanish every day.
El equipo intentaba ganar el partido, pero se quedaron sin tiempo.
B1The team was attempting to win the game, but they ran out of time.
💡 Grammar Points
The Imperfect Tense: Duration and Habit
'Intentaba' is the Imperfect tense, which describes actions that went on for a while in the past ('was trying') or actions that happened repeatedly ('used to try').
Setting the Scene
Use 'intentaba' to describe the background action when something sudden happened: 'Intentaba dormir cuando el perro ladró' (I was trying to sleep when the dog barked).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Imperfect vs. Preterite
Mistake: "Intentó abrir la puerta y falló. (He tried and failed.)"
Correction: Intentaba abrir la puerta cuando llegó la policía. (He was trying to open the door when the police arrived.) The imperfect ('intentaba') focuses on the process; the preterite ('intentó') focuses on the single, completed result.
⭐ Usage Tips
Who is 'Intentaba'?
Remember that 'intentaba' can mean 'I was trying' (yo) or 'He/She/It was trying' (él/ella) or 'You were trying' (usted). You must look at the rest of the sentence for context!
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: intentaba
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence uses 'intentaba' correctly to describe a past habit?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'intentaba' translate to both 'I was trying' and 'He/She was trying'?
'Intentaba' is the exact same form for the 'yo' (I), 'él' (he), 'ella' (she), and 'usted' (you formal) subjects in the imperfect tense. Spanish often relies on context or explicitly stating the subject (Yo intentaba, Ella intentaba) to be clear.