llamar imperfect tense conjugation
Llamar (to call) in the imperfect tense: llamaba, llamabas, llamaba, llamábamos, llamabais, llamaban.
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).
Llamar 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
Llamar in a sentence
- Llamo a mi madre cada día.I call my mother every day.
- Me llamó por teléfono anoche.He called me on the phone last night.
Regular verb; reflexive 'llamarse' used to state one's name: 'me llamo...'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of llamar?
Llamar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo llamaba, tú llamabas, él/ella/usted llamaba, nosotros llamábamos, vosotros llamabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes llamaban.
Is llamar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense llamar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so llamaba 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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