Wow, you’re smart. If you were looking for the explanation for the imperfect subjunctive tense, you’re ready to reach a level that most Spanish speakers never get to - really, I’m impressed!
This tense is mostly used to talk about hypothetical situations that never occurred - but could have.
Although this may seem a little intimidating with what I’m going to tell you in the next section, don’t worry, you’ll learn these conjugations through exposure and practice! I believe in you!
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What Is The Imperfect Subjunctive Tense In Spanish?
The imperfect subjunctive tense in Spanish is used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past that didn’t occur. For example “If I were rich, I would go to Dubai.”
This tense comes out when you hear words like “If only” “I wish” or “I would have.” Here are 3 English examples to help you understand better.
If it was up to me, I would pay the ticket
(Si fuera por mí, yo pagaría la multa)
If I had known, I wouldn’t have done that
(Si hubiera sabido, no hubiese hecho eso)
I wish I could leave work early
(Ojalá pudiera salir del trabajo temprano)
Important Information:
The imperfect subjunctive is also used for the same purposes of the standard subjunctive tense, but just for the past tense. Standard subjunctive rules indicate that we use it for:
Wishes & Desires (Ex. I want you to come)
Doubt & Uncertainty (Ex. I don't think he's right)
Emotions (Ex. I'm glad that you came)
Impersonal Expressions (Ex. One must study to get good grades)
How Do You Form The Imperfect Subjunctive Tense In Spanish?
There are three forms of the imperfect subjunctive tense that are used interchangeably. The first one ends in IERA and the other in IESE.
Some people will tell you that they are regional, however, after speaking with native Spanish speakers from just about every country, I have found that the same rule applies (Almost) wherever you are.
The rule is the following - Use the IERA ending first, and if you need to repeat the word, use the IESE ending.
So basically, they are two so that we don’t sound repetitive.
Think about the sentence example I gave above “Si hubiera sabido, no hubiese hecho eso”
Now that you know the two, let me throw something else at you. With AR verbs, the IERA is sometimes replaced with an ARA ending.
Ex. Hablar - Hablara 👌 (NOT Habliera) 🙅♂️
To not over-explain it, let’s jump into some examples and let our brains figure it out through acquisition. Don’t worry, I use these tenses 10+ times a day and I never studied it intensely, it’s just something you’ll acquire after being aware of it.
10 Verbs In The Imperfect Subjunctive Tense
Now let's take a look at some verbs, take notice to whether a verb uses the IERA or the ARA ending.
After this exercise, take a look at the sentence example section, every one of these words will be used in a sentence so that you can see how it looks like when they're used.
Comer (To eat)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Comiera / Comiese |
Tú (You) | Comieras / Comiese |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Comiera / Comiese |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Comieran / Comiesen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Comiéramos / Comiésemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Comierais / Comieseis |
Hablar (To talk)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Hablara / Hablase |
Tú (You) | Hablaras / Hablases |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Hablara / Hablase |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Hablaran / Hablasen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Habláramos / Hablásemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Hablarais / Hablaseis |
Vivir (To live)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Viviera / Viviese |
Tú (You) | Vivieras / Vivieses |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Viviera / Viviese |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Vivieran / Viviesen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Viviéramos / Viviésemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Vivierais / Vivieis |
Trabajar (To work)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Trabajara / Trabajase |
Tú (You) | Trabajaras / Trabajases |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Trabajara / Trabajase |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Trabajaran / Trabajasen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Trabajáramos / Trabajásemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Trabajarais / Trabajaseis |
Estudiar (To study)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Estudiera / Estudiese |
Tú (You) | Estudieras / Estudieses |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Estudiera / Estudiese |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Estudieran / Estudiesen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Estudiéramos / Estudiésemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Estudierais / Estudiesais |
Llegar (To arrive)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Llegara / Llegase |
Tú (You) | Llegaras / Llegases |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Llegara / Llegase |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Llegaran / Llegasen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Llegáramos / Llegásemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Llegarais / llegaseis |
Viajar (To travel)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Viajara / Viajese |
Tú (You) | Viajaras / Viajeses |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Viajara / Viajese |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Viajaran / Viajesen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Viajáramos / Viajésemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Viajarais / Viajeseis |
Comprar (To buy)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Comprara / Comprase |
Tú (You) | Compraras / Comprases |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Comprara / Comprase |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Compraran / Comprasen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Compráramos / Comprásemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Comprarais / Compraseis |
Jugar (To play)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Jugara / Jugase |
Tú (You) | Jugaras / Jugases |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Jugara / Jugase |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Jugaran / Jugasen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Jugáramos / Jugásemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Jugarais / Jugaseis |
Aprender (To learn)
Subject | Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Aprendiera / Aprendiese |
Tú (You) | Aprendieras / Aprendieses |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Aprendiera / Aprendiese |
Ellos/as/Ustedes (Them/You-Plural) | Aprendieran / Aprendiesen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Aprendiéramos / Aprendiésemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural | SPAIN) | Aprendierais / Aprendieseis |
Example Sentences: The Imperfect Subjunctive
Prefería que ella comiera la pizza.
(I preferred that she ate the pizza.)
Esperaba que él hablara con sinceridad.
(I wished that he would have talked honestly.)
Era mejor que ellos vivieran cerca.
(It was better that they lived nearby.)
Dudo que él trabajara en la empresa.
(I doubt that he worked at the company.)
Era importante que tú estudiaras para el examen.
(It was important that you studied for the exam.)
Preferíamos que ellos llegaran temprano.
(We would prefer that they arrived early.)
Querían que nosotros viajáramos juntos.
(They wanted us to travel together.)
No estaba seguro de que ella comprara el coche.
(I wasn't sure if she bought the car.)
Sería genial si ellos jugaran al fútbol.
(It would be great if they played soccer.)
No creía que él aprendiera tan rápido.
(I didn't think he learned so quickly.)