perder imperfect tense conjugation
Perder (to lose) in the imperfect tense: perdía, perdías, perdía, perdíamos, perdíais, perdían.
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).
Perder 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
Perder in a sentence
- Pierdo las llaves a menudo.I often lose my keys.
- Perdimos el partido ayer.We lost the game yesterday.
e→ie stem change; also means 'to miss' (a bus, train, opportunity).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of perder?
Perder in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo perdía, tú perdías, él/ella/usted perdía, nosotros perdíamos, vosotros perdíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes perdían.
Is perder irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense perder takes the regular endings for its verb class, so perdía 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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