tocar imperfect tense conjugation
Tocar (to touch/play (instrument)) in the imperfect tense: tocaba, tocabas, tocaba, tocábamos, tocabais, tocaban.
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).
Tocar 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
Tocar in a sentence
- Toco la guitarra todos los días.I play the guitar every day.
- Alguien tocó a la puerta.Someone knocked on the door.
Spelling change c→qu before e: preterite yo 'toqué'; also 'to knock'.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of tocar?
Tocar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo tocaba, tú tocabas, él/ella/usted tocaba, nosotros tocábamos, vosotros tocabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes tocaban.
Is tocar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense tocar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so tocaba 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 tocar conjugation, all tenses →
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