trabajar imperfect tense conjugation
Trabajar (to work) in the imperfect tense: trabajaba, trabajabas, trabajaba, trabajábamos, trabajabais, trabajaban.
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).
Trabajar 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
Trabajar in a sentence
- Trabajo en un banco.I work at a bank.
- Trabajé todo el fin de semana.I worked all weekend.
Regular -ar verb; 'trabajar de' means 'to work as' (a job).
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of trabajar?
Trabajar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo trabajaba, tú trabajabas, él/ella/usted trabajaba, nosotros trabajábamos, vosotros trabajabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes trabajaban.
Is trabajar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense trabajar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so trabajaba 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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