jugar imperfect tense conjugation
Jugar (to play (a game/sport)) in the imperfect tense: jugaba, jugabas, jugaba, jugábamos, jugabais, jugaban.
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).
Jugar 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
Jugar in a sentence
- Juego al fútbol los sábados.I play soccer on Saturdays.
- Jugamos un partido ayer.We played a match yesterday.
Stem-changing u→ue in present tense: 'juego, juegas...'—the only such verb.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of jugar?
Jugar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo jugaba, tú jugabas, él/ella/usted jugaba, nosotros jugábamos, vosotros jugabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes jugaban.
Is jugar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense jugar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so jugaba 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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