Imperfect of -ir and -re Verbs
vendiái, dormissiái: add -iái, -iás, -iá, -iam, -iatz, -ián.
How It Works
| vendre | dormir | |
|---|---|---|
| ieu | vendiái | dormissiái |
| tu | vendiás | dormissiás |
| el, ela | vendiá | dormissiá |
| nosautres | vendiam | dormissiam |
| vosautres | vendiatz | dormissiatz |
| eles, elas | vendián | dormissián |
The acute accent sits on the á of the ieu, tu, he or she and eles forms, and on no other form.
Almost every -ir verb takes -iss- in the imperfect, as in the present: finissiá, legissiá, partissiá. Only sentir and venir do not: sentiá, veniá.
Use the imperfect for habits and scenes in the past: Legissiái lo jornal cada matin.
Some stems change in the imperfect: beure gives beviá and viure gives viviá. Those stems are in the nosautres present: bevèm, vivèm.
Examples (5)
- Vendiá lo vin.
He used to sell the wine.
Vendiá is the he or she form of vendre.
- Dormissiam plan.
We used to sleep well.
Dormissiam keeps -iss- of dormir.
- Legissiái lo jornal cada matin.
I used to read the newspaper every morning.
Legissiái is the ieu form of legir.
- Beviás fòrça aiga.
You used to drink a lot of water.
Beviás is the tu form of beure.
- Finissián lo trabalh a cinc oras.
They used to finish work at five.
Finissián is the eles form of finir.
Common Mistakes
Using -ar endings on a -re verb.
Vendava lo vin.Vendiá lo vin.-re verbs take the endings with -i-: vendiá, not vendava.
Dropping the acute accent.
Vendia lo vin.Vendiá lo vin.The he or she form ends in -iá, with an acute accent.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The imperfect of -ir and -re verbs uses different endings from the -ar imperfect, so the -ir and -re presents and the -ar imperfect come first.
- Present of -ir Verbs With -iss-
Know the -ir present with -iss-, because -ir verbs keep -iss- in the imperfect: dormissiá, legissiái.
Level 2 - Present of -re Verbs
Know the -re present, because -re verbs lose -re and add the endings: vendiá, beviás.
Level 2 - Imperfect of -ar Verbs
Know the imperfect of -ar verbs, because the -iái endings are the counterpart of -avi: parlavi, vendiái.
Level 3
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Imperfect of -ir and -re Verbs in Bubblegum
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