comprar imperfect tense conjugation
Comprar (to buy) in the imperfect tense: compraba, comprabas, compraba, comprábamos, comprabais, compraban.
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).
Comprar 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
Comprar in a sentence
- Compro pan cada mañana.I buy bread every morning.
- Compré un regalo para ella.I bought a gift for her.
Regular -ar verb; often used with 'en' for the store location.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of comprar?
Comprar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo compraba, tú comprabas, él/ella/usted compraba, nosotros comprábamos, vosotros comprabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes compraban.
Is comprar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense comprar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so compraba 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 comprar conjugation, all tenses →
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