tratar imperfect tense conjugation
Tratar (to try, deal with) in the imperfect tense: trataba, tratabas, trataba, tratábamos, tratabais, trataban.
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).
Tratar 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
Tratar in a sentence
- Trato de estudiar todos los días.I try to study every day.
- Trataron el problema con cuidado.They dealt with the problem carefully.
'Tratar de' + infinitive means 'to try to'; regular -ar verb.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of tratar?
Tratar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo trataba, tú tratabas, él/ella/usted trataba, nosotros tratábamos, vosotros tratabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes trataban.
Is tratar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense tratar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so trataba 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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