intentar imperfect tense conjugation
Intentar (to try/attempt) in the imperfect tense: intentaba, intentabas, intentaba, intentábamos, intentabais, intentaban.
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).
Intentar 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
Intentar in a sentence
- Intento hablar español todos los días.I try to speak Spanish every day.
- Intentamos resolver el problema.We tried to solve the problem.
Followed by infinitive: 'intentar + inf.' meaning 'to try to'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of intentar?
Intentar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo intentaba, tú intentabas, él/ella/usted intentaba, nosotros intentábamos, vosotros intentabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes intentaban.
Is intentar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense intentar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so intentaba 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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