empezar imperfect tense conjugation
Empezar (to begin, start) in the imperfect tense: empezaba, empezabas, empezaba, empezábamos, empezabais, empezaban.
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).
Empezar 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
Empezar in a sentence
- Empiezo a trabajar a las nueve.I start working at nine.
- La clase empezó tarde ayer.The class started late yesterday.
e→ie stem change; z→c before e (empecé); followed by 'a' + infinitive.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of empezar?
Empezar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo empezaba, tú empezabas, él/ella/usted empezaba, nosotros empezábamos, vosotros empezabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes empezaban.
Is empezar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense empezar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so empezaba 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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