escribir imperfect tense conjugation
Escribir (to write) in the imperfect tense: escribía, escribías, escribía, escribíamos, escribíais, escribían.
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).
Escribir 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
Escribir in a sentence
- Escribo cartas a mis amigos.I write letters to my friends.
- Ha escrito tres libros.He has written three books.
Irregular past participle: escrito; otherwise regular -ir verb.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of escribir?
Escribir in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo escribía, tú escribías, él/ella/usted escribía, nosotros escribíamos, vosotros escribíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes escribían.
Is escribir irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense escribir takes the regular endings for its verb class, so escribía 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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