poner imperfect tense conjugation
Poner (to put/place) in the imperfect tense: ponía, ponías, ponía, poníamos, poníais, ponían.
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).
Poner 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
Poner in a sentence
- Pongo el libro en la mesa.I put the book on the table.
- Ella puso la mesa para la cena.She set the table for dinner.
Irregular yo form 'pongo'; irregular preterite 'puse'; reflexive 'ponerse' means 'to become'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of poner?
Poner in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo ponía, tú ponías, él/ella/usted ponía, nosotros poníamos, vosotros poníais, ellos/ellas/ustedes ponían.
Is poner irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense poner takes the regular endings for its verb class, so ponía 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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