estudiar imperfect tense conjugation
Estudiar (to study) in the imperfect tense: estudiaba, estudiabas, estudiaba, estudiábamos, estudiabais, estudiaban.
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).
Estudiar 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
Estudiar in a sentence
- Estudio español en la universidad.I study Spanish at university.
- Estudié toda la noche para el examen.I studied all night for the exam.
Regular -ar verb; stress falls on the 'i': 'estudio'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of estudiar?
Estudiar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo estudiaba, tú estudiabas, él/ella/usted estudiaba, nosotros estudiábamos, vosotros estudiabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes estudiaban.
Is estudiar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense estudiar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so estudiaba 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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