usar imperfect tense conjugation
Usar (to use) in the imperfect tense: usaba, usabas, usaba, usábamos, usabais, usaban.
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).
Usar 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
Usar in a sentence
- Uso mi teléfono todos los días.I use my phone every day.
- Ayer usé el diccionario para la tarea.Yesterday I used the dictionary for homework.
Regular -ar verb; also means 'to wear' when referring to clothes.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of usar?
Usar in the Spanish imperfect tense: yo usaba, tú usabas, él/ella/usted usaba, nosotros usábamos, vosotros usabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes usaban.
Is usar irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense usar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so usaba 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 usar conjugation, all tenses →
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