tomar imperfect tense conjugation
Tomar (to take, drink) in the imperfect tense: tomaba, tomabas, tomaba, tomábamos, tomabais, tomaban.
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).
Tomar 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
Tomar in a sentence
- Tomo café todas las mañanas.I drink coffee every morning.
- Tomé el autobús para llegar aquí.I took the bus to get here.
Regular -ar verb; means both 'to drink' and 'to take' (transport, medicine).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of tomar?
Tomar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo tomaba, tú tomabas, él/ella/usted tomaba, nosotros tomábamos, vosotros tomabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes tomaban.
Is tomar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense tomar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so tomaba 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 tomar conjugation, all tenses →
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