Transcript THE IMPERFECT TENSE

THE
IMPERFECT
TENSE
The Imperfect Tense:
• Expresses action that took place
repeatedly or customarily in the past
• Is often translated with the helping
verb “was” or “were”
• Has a special set of verb endings
The imperfect tense endings:
• bam
• bamus
• bas
• batis
• bat
• bant
Add the imperfect
endings to an infinitive,
minus the -re
amare - re = ama + bam
amabam= I was loving,I used to love, I kept
loving, I began to love
imperfect of amare
• amabam
• amabamus
• amabas
• amabatis
• amabat
• amabant
imperfect of tenere
• tenebam
• tenebamus
• tenebas
• tenebatis
• tenebat
• tenebant
imperfect of dicere
• dicebam
• dicebamus
• dicebas
• dicebatis
• dicebat
• dicebant
The imperfect of fourth
conjugation verbs and third
“-io” verbs has an IE
before the imperfect
endings:
Capiebam, faciebas,
audiebat, veniebat, etc.
imperfect of salire
• saliebam
• saliebamus
• saliebas
• saliebatis
• saliebat
• saliebant
The imperfect tense
of esse and posse is
irregular!
imperfect of esse
• eram
• eramus
• eras
• eratis
• erat
• erant
imperfect of posse
• poteram
• poteramus
• poteras
• poteratis
• poterat
• poterant
The imperfect of
ire and its
compounds have
an “i” before the
imperfect endings.
Imperfect of ire
• ibam
• ibamus
• ibas
• ibatis
• ibat
• ibant
Imperfect of exire
• exibam
• exibamus
• exibas
• exibatis
• exibat
• exibant
FINIS