terminar imperfect tense conjugation
Terminar (to finish, end) in the imperfect tense: terminaba, terminabas, terminaba, terminábamos, terminabais, terminaban.
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).
Terminar 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
Terminar in a sentence
- Termino mis deberes a las ocho.I finish my homework at eight.
- Ayer terminé el libro.Yesterday I finished the book.
Regular -ar verb; often used with 'de' + infinitive (terminar de comer).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of terminar?
Terminar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo terminaba, tú terminabas, él/ella/usted terminaba, nosotros terminábamos, vosotros terminabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes terminaban.
Is terminar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense terminar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so terminaba 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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