querer imperfect tense conjugation
Querer (to want/love) in the imperfect tense: quería, querías, quería, queríamos, queríais, querían.
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).
Querer 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
Querer in a sentence
- Quiero un café, por favor.I want a coffee, please.
- Ella quería viajar a España.She wanted to travel to Spain.
Stem-changing (e→ie); also means 'to love' in personal relationships.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of querer?
Querer in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo quería, tú querías, él/ella/usted quería, nosotros queríamos, vosotros queríais, ellos/ellas/ustedes querían.
Is querer irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense querer takes the regular endings for its verb class, so quería 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).
Full querer conjugation, all tenses →
Drill it with flashcards →