caer imperfect tense conjugation
Caer (to fall) in the imperfect tense: caía, caías, caía, caíamos, caíais, caían.
Pretérito imperfecto Imperfect
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the imperfect tense
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
Caer is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Caer in a sentence
- Me caigo mucho cuando esquío.I fall a lot when I ski.
- Las hojas cayeron del árbol.The leaves fell from the tree.
Irregular yo form (caigo); i→y in preterite (cayó); often reflexive 'caerse'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of caer?
Caer in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo caía, tú caías, él/ella/usted caía, nosotros caíamos, vosotros caíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes caían.
Is caer irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense caer takes the regular endings for its verb class, so caía follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish imperfect tense?
The imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions (“was doing”), descriptions, age and time. “Cuando era niño, vivía en Sevilla.”
How is the imperfect tense formed?
Regular endings: -ar → aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban; -er/-ir → ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían. Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía).
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