comenzar imperfect tense conjugation
Comenzar (to begin, start) in the imperfect tense: comenzaba, comenzabas, comenzaba, comenzábamos, comenzabais, comenzaban.
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).
Comenzar 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
Comenzar in a sentence
- La clase comienza a las nueve.The class starts at nine.
- Comenzamos el proyecto ayer.We started the project yesterday.
Stem-changing e→ie (comienzo); spelling change z→c before e (comencé).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of comenzar?
Comenzar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo comenzaba, tú comenzabas, él/ella/usted comenzaba, nosotros comenzábamos, vosotros comenzabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes comenzaban.
Is comenzar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense comenzar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so comenzaba 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).
Full comenzar conjugation, all tenses →
Drill it with flashcards →