recibir imperfect tense conjugation
Recibir (to receive) in the imperfect tense: recibía, recibías, recibía, recibíamos, recibíais, recibían.
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).
Recibir 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
Recibir in a sentence
- Recibo correos todos los días.I receive emails every day.
- Recibí un regalo ayer.I received a gift yesterday.
Regular -ir verb; straightforward conjugation in all tenses.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of recibir?
Recibir in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo recibía, tú recibías, él/ella/usted recibía, nosotros recibíamos, vosotros recibíais, ellos/ellas/ustedes recibían.
Is recibir irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense recibir takes the regular endings for its verb class, so recibía 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 recibir conjugation, all tenses →
Drill it with flashcards →