cerrar imperfect tense conjugation
Cerrar (to close) in the imperfect tense: cerraba, cerrabas, cerraba, cerrábamos, cerrabais, cerraban.
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).
Cerrar 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
Cerrar in a sentence
- Cierro la puerta con llave.I close the door with a key.
- La tienda cerró temprano ayer.The store closed early yesterday.
Stem-changing e→ie in present tense (cierro, cierras, cierra).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of cerrar?
Cerrar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo cerraba, tú cerrabas, él/ella/usted cerraba, nosotros cerrábamos, vosotros cerrabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes cerraban.
Is cerrar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense cerrar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so cerraba 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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