ganar imperfect tense conjugation
Ganar (to win, earn) in the imperfect tense: ganaba, ganabas, ganaba, ganábamos, ganabais, ganaban.
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).
Ganar 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
Ganar in a sentence
- Gano mucho dinero en este trabajo.I earn a lot of money at this job.
- Nuestro equipo ganó el partido.Our team won the match.
Regular -ar verb; used for both winning competitions and earning money.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of ganar?
Ganar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo ganaba, tú ganabas, él/ella/usted ganaba, nosotros ganábamos, vosotros ganabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes ganaban.
Is ganar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense ganar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so ganaba 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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