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class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Slavic_languages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.6</span> <span>Slavic languages</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Slavic_languages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Turkish" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Turkish"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Turkish</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Turkish-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Semitic_languages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Semitic_languages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Semitic languages</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Semitic_languages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dravidian_languages" 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class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect_tense&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Imperfect tense">Imperfect tense</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Grammatical construct combining past tense with continuing aspect</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Imperfect_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Imperfect (disambiguation)">Imperfect (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p>The <b>imperfect</b> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_glossing_abbreviations" title="List of glossing abbreviations">abbreviated</a> <b><span class="smallcaps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;">IMPERF</span></span></b>) is a <a href="/wiki/Verb" title="Verb">verb</a> form that combines <a href="/wiki/Past_tense" title="Past tense">past tense</a> (reference to a past time) and <a href="/wiki/Imperfective_aspect" title="Imperfective aspect">imperfective aspect</a> (reference to a continuing or repeated event or state). It can have meanings similar to the English "was walking" or "used to walk". It contrasts with <a href="/wiki/Preterite" title="Preterite">preterite</a> forms, which refer to a single completed event in the past. </p><p>Traditionally, the imperfect of languages such as Latin and French is referred to as one of the tenses, although it actually encodes <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_aspect" title="Grammatical aspect">aspectual</a> information in addition to tense (time reference). It may be more precisely called <i><b>past imperfective</b></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>English has no general imperfective and expresses it in different ways. The term "imperfect" in English refers to forms much more commonly called <i><a href="/wiki/Past_progressive" class="mw-redirect" title="Past progressive">past progressive</a></i> or <i>past continuous</i> (e.g. "was doing" or "were doing"). These are combinations of past tense with specifically <a href="/wiki/Progressive_aspect" class="mw-redirect" title="Progressive aspect">continuous or progressive</a> aspect. In German, <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Imperfekt</i></span> formerly referred to the simply conjugated past tense (to contrast with the <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Perfekt</i></span> or compound past form), but the term <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Präteritum</i></span> (preterite) is now preferred, since the form does not carry any implication of imperfective aspect. </p><p>"Imperfect" comes from the Latin <span title="Latin-language text"><i lang="la">imperfectus</i></span> "unfinished",<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> because the imperfect expresses an ongoing, uncompleted action. The equivalent <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Greek" title="Ancient Greek">Ancient Greek</a> term was <span title="Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language romanization"><i lang="grc-Latn">paratatikós</i></span> "prolonged".<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><span class="anchor" id="Imperfect_in_Indo-European_languages"></span> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Indo-European_languages">Indo-European languages</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Indo-European languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Germanic_languages">Germanic languages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Germanic languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="English">English</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: English"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Imperfect meanings in <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a> are expressed in different ways depending on whether the event is continuous or habitual. </p><p>For a <a href="/wiki/Continuous_aspect" class="mw-redirect" title="Continuous aspect">continuous</a> action (one that was in progress at a particular time in the past), the <a href="/wiki/Past_progressive" class="mw-redirect" title="Past progressive">past progressive</a> (past continuous) form is used, as in "I <i>was eating</i>"; "They <i>were running</i> fast." However certain verbs that express <a href="/wiki/Stative_verb" title="Stative verb">state</a> rather than action do not mark the progressive aspect (see <a href="/wiki/Uses_of_English_verb_forms#Progressive" title="Uses of English verb forms">Uses of English verb forms § Progressive</a>); in these cases the <a href="/wiki/Simple_past" title="Simple past">simple past</a> tense is used instead: "He <i>was</i> hungry"; "We <i>knew</i> what to do next." </p><p><a href="/wiki/Habitual_aspect" title="Habitual aspect">Habitual</a> (repeated) action in the past can be marked by <i><a href="/wiki/Used_to" class="mw-redirect" title="Used to">used to</a></i>, as in "I <i>used to eat</i> a lot", or by the auxiliary verb <a href="/wiki/English_modal_verbs#will" class="mw-redirect" title="English modal verbs"><i>would</i></a>, as in "Back then, I <i>would eat</i> early and <i>would walk</i> to school." (The auxiliary <i>would</i> also has other uses, such as expressing <a href="/wiki/Uses_of_English_verb_forms#Conditional" title="Uses of English verb forms">conditional mood</a>.)<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, in many cases the habitual nature of the action does not need to be explicitly marked on the verb, and the simple past is used: "We always <i>ate</i> dinner at six o'clock." </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Italic_languages">Italic languages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Italic languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Latin">Latin</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Latin"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Conjugation of the imperfect indicative: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th><b>parāre</b></th> <th>docēre</th> <th>legere</th> <th>capere</th> <th>scīre</th> <th>esse </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>ego</i></td> <td>parābam</td> <td>docēbam</td> <td>legēbam</td> <td>capiēbam</td> <td>sciēbam</td> <td>eram </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>tū</i></td> <td>parābās</td> <td>docēbās</td> <td>legēbās</td> <td>capiēbās</td> <td>sciēbās</td> <td>erās </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>is</i></td> <td>parābat</td> <td>docēbat</td> <td>legēbat</td> <td>capiēbat</td> <td>sciēbat</td> <td>erat </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nōs</i></td> <td>parābāmus</td> <td>docēbāmus</td> <td>legēbāmus</td> <td>capiēbāmus</td> <td>sciēbāmus</td> <td>erāmus </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>vōs</i></td> <td>parābātis</td> <td>docēbātis</td> <td>legēbātis</td> <td>capiēbātis</td> <td>sciēbātis</td> <td>erātis </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>eī</i></td> <td>parābant</td> <td>docēbant</td> <td>legēbant</td> <td>capiēbant</td> <td>sciēbant</td> <td>erant </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Notes: </p> <ul><li>The imperfect is signified by the signs <i>ba</i> and <i>ebā</i>.</li> <li>The imperfect forms of <i>esse</i> are used as auxiliary verbs in the pluperfect of the passive voice along with perfect passive participles.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Romance_languages">Romance languages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Romance languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Romance_languages" title="Romance languages">Romance languages</a>, the <b>imperfect</b> is generally a past tense. Its uses include representing: </p> <ul><li>Repetition and continuity: an action that was happening, used to happen, or happened regularly in the past, as it was ongoing</li> <li>A description of people, things, or conditions of the past</li> <li>A time in the past</li> <li>A relation between past happenings: a situation that was in progress in the past or a condition originated in a previous time, when another isolated and important event occurred (the first verb, indicating the status in progress or condition from the past using the imperfect, while the latter uses the <a href="/wiki/Preterite" title="Preterite">preterite</a>).</li> <li>A physical or mental state or condition in progress in the past. Often used with verbs of being, emotion, capability, or conscience.</li></ul> <p>A common mistake of beginners learning a Romance language is putting too much emphasis on whether the time the action occurred is known. This generally does <i>not</i> affect how the imperfect is used. For example, the sentence "<i>Someone ate all of my cookies.</i>" (when translated) is not a good candidate for the imperfect. Fundamentally, it is no different from the sentence "<i>We ate all the cookies.</i>" Note this fails the <i>repeatability</i> requirement of the imperfect, as it is only known to have happened once. On the other hand, the sentence "<i>I used to have fun in the 1960s.</i>" is a good candidate for the imperfect, even though its period is known. In short, knowing <i>when</i> an action occurred is not nearly as important as <i>how long</i> it occurred (or was and still is occurring). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="French">French</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: French"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>To form the imperfect for <a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a> regular verbs, take the first person plural present tense, the "nous" (we) form, subtract the <i>-ons</i> suffix, and add the appropriate ending (the forms for <i>être</i> (to be), whose "nous" form does not end in <i>-ons</i>, are irregular; they start with <i>ét-</i> but have the same endings). Verbs that terminate in a stem of -cer and -ger undergo minor orthographic changes to preserve the phonetic sound or allophone. Verbs whose root terminates in the letter "i" maintain the letter despite the consecutiveness in the "nous" and "vous" forms. </p><p>It is used to express the ideas of habitual actions or states of being; physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings; actions or states of an unspecified duration; background information in conjunction with the passé composé; wishes or suggestions; conditions in "si" clauses; the expressions "être en train de" and "venir de" in the past. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>  </th> <th></th> <th>parler</th> <th>choisir</th> <th>vendre</th> <th>être</th> <th>commencer</th> <th>manger</th> <th>étudier </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>je</i> </td> <td><i>-ais</i></td> <td>parlais</td> <td>choisissais</td> <td>vendais</td> <td>étais</td> <td>commençais</td> <td>mangeais</td> <td>étudiais </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>tu</i> </td> <td><i>-ais</i></td> <td>parlais</td> <td>choisissais</td> <td>vendais</td> <td>étais</td> <td>commençais</td> <td>mangeais</td> <td>étudiais </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>il</i> </td> <td><i>-ait</i></td> <td>parlait</td> <td>choisissait</td> <td>vendait</td> <td>était</td> <td>commençait</td> <td>mangeait</td> <td>étudiait </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nous</i> </td> <td><i>-ions</i></td> <td>parlions</td> <td>choisissions</td> <td>vendions</td> <td>étions</td> <td>commencions</td> <td>mangions</td> <td>étudiions </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>vous</i> </td> <td><i>-iez</i></td> <td>parliez</td> <td>choisissiez</td> <td>vendiez</td> <td>étiez</td> <td>commenciez</td> <td>mangiez</td> <td>étudiiez </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>ils</i> </td> <td><i>-aient</i></td> <td>parlaient</td> <td>choisissaient</td> <td>vendaient</td> <td>étaient</td> <td>commençaient</td> <td>mangeaient</td> <td>étudiaient </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Italian">Italian</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Italian"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Conjugation of the imperfect indicative: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>avere</th> <th>essere</th> <th>parlare</th> <th>credere</th> <th>finire</th> <th>dire</th> <th>opporre </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>io</i></td> <td>avevo</td> <td>ero</td> <td>parlavo</td> <td>credevo</td> <td>finivo</td> <td>dicevo</td> <td>opponevo </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>tu</i></td> <td>avevi</td> <td>eri</td> <td>parlavi</td> <td>credevi</td> <td>finivi</td> <td>dicevi</td> <td>opponevi </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>lui</i></td> <td>aveva</td> <td>era</td> <td>parlava</td> <td>credeva</td> <td>finiva</td> <td>diceva</td> <td>opponeva </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>noi</i></td> <td>avevamo</td> <td>eravamo</td> <td>parlavamo</td> <td>credevamo</td> <td>finivamo</td> <td>dicevamo</td> <td>opponevamo </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>voi</i></td> <td>avevate</td> <td>eravate</td> <td>parlavate</td> <td>credevate</td> <td>finivate</td> <td>dicevate</td> <td>opponevate </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>loro</i></td> <td>avevano</td> <td>erano</td> <td>parlavano</td> <td>credevano</td> <td>finivano</td> <td>dicevano</td> <td>opponevano </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Notes: </p> <ul><li>Dropping the -re suffix and adding -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, and -vano form verbs.</li> <li>Although <i>dire</i> and <i>opporre</i> (as all the composite forms of verb <i>porre</i> and <i>dire</i>) may seem irregular, they are a part of a verb family that has stronger roots to <a href="/wiki/Latin_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Latin language">Latin</a> equivalents (lat. <i>pōnere/pōnēbam</i> and <i>dīcere/dīcēbam</i>). Other verbs include <i>fare</i>(infinitive)/<i>faccio</i>(present tense)/<i>facevo</i>(imperfect) (lat.<i>facere/facio/faciēbam</i>), <i>bere/bevo/bevevo</i> (<i>bibere/bibo/bibēbam</i>), <i>trarre/traggo/traevo</i> (<i>trahere/traho/trahēbam</i>), <i>durre/duco/ducevo</i>[obs.] (<i>dūcere/dūco/dūcēbam</i>) and all their composite forms..</li> <li>There is another imperfect in Italian formed by combining the imperfect of the verb <i>stare</i> (stavo, stavi, stava, stavamo, stavate, stavano) with the gerund. For example, "parlavo" could be said as "stavo parlando". The difference is similar to the difference between "I eat" and "I am eating" in English. However, English does not make this distinction in the imperfect.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Romanian">Romanian</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Romanian"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Conjugation of the imperfect indicative: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>cânta(re)</th> <th>crede(re)</th> <th>plăcea (plăcere)</th> <th>dormi(re)</th> <th>fi(re) </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>eu</i></td> <td>cântam</td> <td>credeam</td> <td>plăceam</td> <td>dormeam</td> <td>eram </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>tu</i></td> <td>cântai</td> <td>credeai</td> <td>plăceai</td> <td>dormeai</td> <td>erai </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>el/ea</i></td> <td>cânta</td> <td>credea</td> <td>plăcea</td> <td>dormea</td> <td>era </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>noi</i></td> <td>cântam</td> <td>credeam</td> <td>plăceam</td> <td>dormeam</td> <td>eram </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>voi</i></td> <td>cântați</td> <td>credeați</td> <td>plăceați</td> <td>dormeați</td> <td>erați </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>ei</i></td> <td>cântau</td> <td>credeau</td> <td>plăceau</td> <td>dormeau</td> <td>erau </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Notes: </p> <ul><li>The imperfect is formed from the short infinitive form of the verbs (without the -re suffix) combined with the -am, -ai, -a, -am, -ați, and -au endings.</li> <li>Short infinitives ending in „-a” (1st conjugation) don't double this letter: e.g. "pleca” in the first person singular is "plec<b>a</b>m" and not "plec<b>aa</b>m").</li> <li>Short infinitives ending in "-i" take the pattern of those ending in "-e" (e.g. <i>dorm<b>i</b></i> becomes <i>dorm<b>e</b>am</i> in 1st person imperfect), while short infinitives ending in "-î" take the pattern of those ending in "-a" (e.g. <i>hotăr<b>î</b></i> becomes <i>hotăr<b>a</b>m</i> in 1st person imperfect).</li> <li>There is only one irregular verb in the imperfect: <i>a fi</i>, that is created from the radical <i>era-</i>, instead of <i>fi-</i>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Spanish">Spanish</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Spanish"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In Spanish, the imperfect can be called the <i>imperfecto</i> or the <i>copretérito</i>. Conjugation of the imperfect indicative: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>hablar</th> <th>comer</th> <th>insistir</th> <th>ir</th> <th>ser</th> <th>ver </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>yo</i></td> <td>hablaba</td> <td>comía</td> <td>insistía</td> <td>iba</td> <td>era</td> <td>veía </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>tú</i></td> <td>hablabas</td> <td>comías</td> <td>insistías</td> <td>ibas</td> <td>eras</td> <td>veías </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>él</i></td> <td>hablaba</td> <td>comía</td> <td>insistía</td> <td>iba</td> <td>era</td> <td>veía </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nosotros</i></td> <td>hablábamos</td> <td>comíamos</td> <td>insistíamos</td> <td>íbamos</td> <td>éramos</td> <td>veíamos </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>vosotros</i></td> <td>hablabais</td> <td>comíais</td> <td>insistíais</td> <td>ibais</td> <td>erais</td> <td>veíais </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>ellos</i></td> <td>hablaban</td> <td>comían</td> <td>insistían</td> <td>iban</td> <td>eran</td> <td>veían </td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect: <i>ir</i>, <i>ser</i>, and <i>ver</i>. Historically, <i>ir</i> — unlike other Spanish "<i>-ir</i> verbs" — failed to drop the <i>-b-</i> of the Latin imperfect. The imperfect of <i>ser</i> is likewise a continuation of the Latin imperfect (of <i>esse</i>), with the same stem appearing in <i>tú <b>er</b>es</i> (thanks to pre-classical Latin <a href="/wiki/Rhotacism_(sound_change)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotacism (sound change)">rhotacism</a>). The imperfect of <i>ver</i> (<i>veía</i> etc.) was historically considered regular in <a href="/wiki/Old_Spanish_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Old Spanish language">Old Spanish</a>, where the infinitive <i>veer</i> provided the stem <i>ve-</i>, but that is no longer the case in <a href="/wiki/Standard_Spanish" title="Standard Spanish">standard Spanish</a>. In formal language, pronouns "tú" and "vosotros" are replaced by "usted" and "ustedes" (sometimes abbreviated as Ud./Vd. and Uds./Vds.), with the verb conjugated in third person. American Spanish always replaces "vosotros" with "ustedes", switching the verb accordingly. The countries that show the kind of <a href="/wiki/Voseo" title="Voseo">voseo</a> in which "tú" is replaced by "vos" use the same forms as for "tú" in this tense.</li> <li>The first person singular and third person singular forms are the same for all verbs; thus, in cases of ambiguity where context is insufficient, a <a href="/wiki/Pronoun" title="Pronoun">pronoun</a> or subject noun is included for the sake of clarification.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Portuguese">Portuguese</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Portuguese"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In Portuguese, the imperfect indicative, called "pretérito imperfeito", is quite similar to Spanish: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>cantar</th> <th>bater</th> <th>partir</th> <th>pôr</th> <th>ser</th> <th>ter</th> <th>vir </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>eu</i></td> <td>cantava</td> <td>batia</td> <td>partia</td> <td>punha</td> <td>era</td> <td>tinha</td> <td>vinha </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>tu</i></td> <td>cantavas</td> <td>batias</td> <td>partias</td> <td>punhas</td> <td>eras</td> <td>tinhas</td> <td>vinhas </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>ele/ela/você</i></td> <td>cantava</td> <td>batia</td> <td>partia</td> <td>punha</td> <td>era</td> <td>tinha</td> <td>vinha </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nós</i></td> <td>cantávamos</td> <td>batíamos</td> <td>partíamos</td> <td>púnhamos</td> <td>éramos</td> <td>tínhamos</td> <td>vínhamos </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>vós</i></td> <td>cantáveis</td> <td>batíeis</td> <td>partíeis</td> <td>púnheis</td> <td>éreis</td> <td>tínheis</td> <td>vínheis </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>eles/elas/vocês</i></td> <td>cantavam</td> <td>batiam</td> <td>partiam</td> <td>punham</td> <td>eram</td> <td>tinham</td> <td>vinham </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>There are four irregular verbs: "pôr" (to put), "ser" (to be), "ter" (to have) and "vir" (to come). Unlike in Spanish, the verbs "ver" (to see) and "ir" (to go) are <i>regular</i> in the Portuguese imperfect. </p><p>Like in Italian, it is also commonly formed by combining the imperfect of the verb estar (estava, estavas, estava, estávamos, estáveis, estavam) with the gerund (for example, "falando", the gerund form of "falar", to speak, to talk). In Brazilian Portuguese, both in informal oral speech and informal written language (for example, online or phone texting), it is more common to use the composite "estava falando" (commonly reduced to "tava falando"), than to use the synthetic "falava", which is more common in formal written forms. </p><p>Both in European and Brazilian Portuguese, the synthetic <a href="/wiki/Pluperfect" title="Pluperfect">pluperfect</a> ("eu falara" "I had spoken") is considered old-fashioned and never used in spoken communication – it is substituted by the composite "eu tinha falado", which is formed with the imperfect form of the verb "ter" (to have) (tinha tinhas tinha tínhamos tínheis tinham) plus the past participle ("falado"). Alternatively, the verb "ter" can be swapped with the imperfect form of the verb "haver" (to have) (havia havias havia haviamos havíeis haviam) </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Galician">Galician</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Galician"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Similar to the closely related Portuguese, as well as to Spanish, but often called "copretérito" (from <i>co-</i>, same particle found in English "collaboration" and "coexistence", plus "pretérito", which is "past tense", in reference of it being a second past tense that exists along the regular one). Same as with them, in formal usage "ti" and "vós/vosoutros" change to "vostede" and "vostedes" and are followed by the third person. In verbs ended in <i>-aer</i>, <i>-oer</i>, <i>-aír</i> and <i>-oír</i>, the first and second person of the plural show the presence of a <a href="/wiki/Hiatus_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hiatus (linguistics)">diaeresis</a>. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>cantar</th> <th>bater</th> <th>partir</th> <th>pór</th> <th>moer </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>eu</i></td> <td>cantaba</td> <td>batía</td> <td>partía</td> <td>puña</td> <td>moía </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>ti</i></td> <td>cantabas</td> <td>batias</td> <td>partías</td> <td>puñas</td> <td>moías </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>el/ela/vostede</i></td> <td>cantaba</td> <td>batía</td> <td>partía</td> <td>puña</td> <td>moía </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>nós/nosoutros</i></td> <td>cantábamos</td> <td>batíamos</td> <td>partíamos</td> <td>puñamos</td> <td>moïamos </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>vós/vosoutros</i></td> <td>cantábades</td> <td>batíades</td> <td>partíades</td> <td>puñades</td> <td>moïades </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>eles/elas/vostedes</i></td> <td>cantaban</td> <td>batían</td> <td>partían</td> <td>puñan</td> <td>moía </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Indo-Aryan_languages">Indo-Aryan languages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Indo-Aryan languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Hindi">Hindi</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Hindi"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Hindustani_grammar" title="Hindustani grammar">Hindi</a>, an <a href="/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languages" title="Indo-Aryan languages">Indo-Aryan language</a>, has indicative imperfect tense conjugation only for the verb होना (<i>honā</i>) [to be] and the rest of the verbs lack this conjugation. The indicative imperfect forms of होना <i>(honā)</i> comes from <a href="/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> स्थित <i>(stʰita)</i> "standing, situated" which are derived from the PIE root <i><b>*</b>steh<b>₂-</b></i> (“to stand”).<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The imperfect conjugation is derived from a participle form and hence its conjugations agree only with the number and gender of the grammatical person and not the pronoun itself. So, the grammatically singular pronouns (e.g., मैं <i>ma͠i</i> "I" and तू <i>tū "you"</i> etc.) are assigned the singular imperfect forms (i.e. था <i>thā</i> or थी <i>thī</i>) depending on the gender of the person or the noun they refer to, and the grammatically plural pronouns (e.g. हम <i>ham</i> "we" etc.) are assigned the plural imperfect forms (थे <i>thē</i> and थीं <i>thīm̊</i>). An exception to this is the pronoun तुम (<i>tum</i>) which takes in the plural imperfect form (थे <i>thē)</i> in masculine gender but singular form (थी <i>thī</i>) in feminine gender. </p><p>These imperfect conjugations also act as copula to form the imperfect past forms for the three <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_aspect" title="Grammatical aspect">grammatical aspects</a> that Hindi hasː <a href="/wiki/Habitual_aspect" title="Habitual aspect">Habitual</a>, <a href="/wiki/Perfective_aspect" title="Perfective aspect">Perfective</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Continuous_and_progressive_aspects" title="Continuous and progressive aspects">Progressive</a> aspects. </p> <table> <tbody><tr> <td> <table class="wikitable"> <caption>Imperfect Past Copula </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Gender </th> <th>Singular </th> <th>Plural </th></tr> <tr> <td>♂ </td> <td><i>thā</i> </td> <td><i>thē</i> </td></tr> <tr> <td>♀ </td> <td><i>thī</i> </td> <td><i>thīm̊</i> </td></tr></tbody></table> </td> <td> <table class="wikitable"> <caption>Imperfect Past Conjugations </caption> <tbody><tr> <th rowspan="3">Aspect </th> <th rowspan="3"> </th> <th colspan="3">Singular </th> <th colspan="4">Plural </th> <th rowspan="3">Translation<br /><small>(3rd person only)</small> </th></tr> <tr> <th>1P </th> <th>2P </th> <th>3P </th> <th colspan="2">2P </th> <th>1P </th> <th>3P </th></tr> <tr> <th><i>ma͠i</i> </th> <th><i>tū</i> </th> <th><i>ye/vo</i> </th> <th><i>tum</i> </th> <th><i>āp</i> </th> <th><i>ham</i> </th> <th><i>ye/vo</i> </th></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="2">Simple </th> <td>♂ </td> <td colspan="3"><i>thā</i> </td> <td colspan="4"><i>thē</i> </td> <td>he was </td></tr> <tr> <td>♀ </td> <td colspan="4"><i>thī</i> </td> <td colspan="3"><i>thīm̊</i> </td> <td>she was </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Habitual_aspect" title="Habitual aspect">Habitual</a> </th> <td>♂ </td> <td colspan="3"><i>boltā thā</i> </td> <td colspan="4"><i>boltē thē</i> </td> <td>he used to speak </td></tr> <tr> <td>♀ </td> <td colspan="4"><i>boltī thī</i> </td> <td colspan="3"><i>boltī thīm̊</i> </td> <td>she used to speak </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Continuous_and_progressive_aspects" title="Continuous and progressive aspects">Progressive</a> </th> <td>♂ </td> <td colspan="3"><i>bol rahā thā</i> </td> <td colspan="4"><i>bol rahē thē</i> </td> <td>he was speaking </td></tr> <tr> <td>♀ </td> <td colspan="4"><i>bol rahī thī</i> </td> <td colspan="3"><i>bol rahī thīm̊</i> </td> <td>she was speaking </td></tr></tbody></table> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><small><b>Note</b>ː The 2P pronouns 'āp' & 'tum' although grammatically plural but are used as singular pronouns, akin to English pronoun 'you'.</small> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Assamese">Assamese</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Assamese"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Assamese_language" title="Assamese language">Assamese</a>, two imperfect forms are recognisedː present progressive and/or present perfect & past progressive and/or remote past. There is only one periphrastic tense which functions as both the present progressive and present perfect with reference to the setting in which is placed.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" rowspan="2"> </th> <th rowspan="2">1P </th> <th colspan="3">2P </th> <th rowspan="2">3P </th></tr> <tr> <th>intimate </th> <th>familiar </th> <th>formal </th></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="2">Imperfective </th> <th>Present </th> <td><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1209690778">.mw-parser-output .interlinear .bold{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .interlinear .smallcaps{text-transform:uppercase;font-size:smaller}</style><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছোঁ</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulisü͂</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছোঁ</p><p style="display: none;">bulisü͂</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছ</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buliso</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছ</p><p style="display: none;">buliso</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছা</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulisa</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছা</p><p style="display: none;">bulisa</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছে</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulise</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছে</p><p style="display: none;">bulise</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td></tr> <tr> <th>Past </th> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছিলোঁ</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulisilü͂</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছিলোঁ</p><p style="display: none;">bulisilü͂</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছিলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulisili</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছিলি</p><p style="display: none;">bulisili</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছিলা</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulisila</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছিলা</p><p style="display: none;">bulisila</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলিছিলে</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">bulisile</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলিছিলে</p><p style="display: none;">bulisile</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="3">Continuous </th> <th>Present </th> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছোঁ</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">asü͂</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছোঁ</p><p style="display: none;">buli asü͂</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছ</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">aso</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছ</p><p style="display: none;">buli aso</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছা</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">asa</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছা</p><p style="display: none;">buli asa</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছে</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">ase</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছে</p><p style="display: none;">buli ase</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td></tr> <tr> <th>Past </th> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছিলোঁ</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">asilü͂</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছিলোঁ</p><p style="display: none;">buli asilü͂</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছিলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">asili</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছিলি</p><p style="display: none;">buli asili</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছিলা</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">asila</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছিলা</p><p style="display: none;">buli asila</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">আছিলে</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">asile</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি আছিলে</p><p style="display: none;">buli asile</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td></tr> <tr> <th>Future </th> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">থাকিম</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">thakim</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি থাকিম</p><p style="display: none;">buli thakim</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">থাকিবি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">thakibi</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি থাকিবি</p><p style="display: none;">buli thakibi</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">থাকিবা</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">thakiba</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি থাকিবা</p><p style="display: none;">buli thakiba</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td> <td colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1209690778" /><div class="interlinear"><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">বুলি</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">buli</p></div><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.3em;margin-right: 1em;"><p lang="as" style="margin: 0px;">থাকিব</p><p lang="as-Latn" style="margin: 0px;font-style: italic;">thakibo</p></div><p style="display: none;">বুলি থাকিব</p><p style="display: none;">buli thakibo</p><p class="mw-empty-elt"></p><div style="clear: left; display: block;"></div> </div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Indo-Iranian_languages">Indo-Iranian languages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Indo-Iranian languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Persian">Persian</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Persian"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Like all other past tenses, imperfect is conjugated regularly for all verbs. Formation: <i>[preverb] + mi- + past stem + past ending.</i> Conjugation of the imperfect indicative for the first person singular is shown in the table belowː </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>raftan (to go)</th> <th>kâr kardan (to work) </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>1st sg.</i></td> <td>miraftam</td> <td>kâr mikardam </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>2nd sg.</i></td> <td>mirafti</td> <td>kâr mikardi </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>3rd sg.</i></td> <td>miraft</td> <td>kâr mikard </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>1st pl.</i></td> <td>miraftim</td> <td>kâr mikardim </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>2nd pl.</i></td> <td>miraftid</td> <td>kâr mikardid </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>3rd pl.</i></td> <td>miraftand</td> <td>kâr mikardand </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Slavic_languages">Slavic languages</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Slavic languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Most Slavic languages have lost the imperfect but it is preserved in Bulgarian and Macedonian. It is also officially retained in Serbian and Croatian but is considered old-fashioned and restricted to literature for poetic and stylistic reasons. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Turkish">Turkish</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Turkish"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Turkish_language" title="Turkish language">Turkish</a> has separate tenses for past continuous and imperfect. To form the past continuous tense for Turkish verbs, after removing the infinitive suffix (-mek or -mak), take the present continuous tense suffix "-yor" without personal suffixes, and add the ending for the simple past plus the appropriate personal suffix </p> <ul><li>As <i>-du</i> (which has a rounded back vowel) succeeds <i>-lar</i> (which has an unrounded back vowel), instead of <i>-yor</i> (which has a rounded back vowel) when the subject is the third person plural <i>onlar</i>, it becomes <i>-dı</i> (which has an unrounded back vowel).</li> <li>If a verb ends in <i>t</i>, it may change into <i>d</i> (especially <i>gitmek</i> and <i>etmek</i>).</li> <li>If a verb ends in open vowels (<i>a</i> or <i>e</i>), the open vowels become closed while adding <i>-yor</i> (because of the closed auxiliary vowel <i>-i-</i>). <dl><dd><i>a</i> becomes <i>ı</i> if the preceding vowel is unrounded, <i>u</i> if it is rounded (ağla -> ağlıyor, topla -> topluyor)</dd> <dd><i>e</i> becomes <i>i</i> if the preceding vowel is unrounded, <i>ü</i> if it is rounded (bekle -> bekliyor, söyle -> söylüyor)</dd></dl></li> <li>If the verb ends in a consonant, the auxiliary vowel <i>-i-</i> must be added before <i>-yor</i>. It becomes <i>-ı-</i>, <i>-u-</i> or <i>-ü-</i> depending on the frontness and roundedness of the preceding vowel, because of the vowel harmony: <dl><dd><i>-i</i> if the preceding vowel is <i>e</i> or <i>i</i> (front unrounded): gel -> geliyor</dd> <dd><i>-ı</i> if the preceding vowel is <i>a</i> or <i>ı</i> (back unrounded): bak -> bakıyor</dd> <dd><i>-u</i> if the preceding vowel is <i>o</i> or <i>u</i> (back rounded): kork -> korkuyor</dd> <dd><i>-ü</i> if the preceding vowel is <i>ö</i> or <i>ü</i> (front rounded): gör -> görüyor</dd></dl></li> <li><i>r</i> of <i>-yor</i> may be dropped in colloquial speech.</li></ul> <p>To form the negative of the past continuous tense, the negation suffix "-ma/-me", which becomes <i>-mi</i>, <i>-mı</i>, <i>-mu</i>, or <i>-mü</i> because of the closed auxiliary vowel and the vowel harmony, must be added before <i>-yor</i>. </p><p><b>Examples:</b> </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>gelmek</th> <th>gitmek</th> <th>ağlamak</th> <th>beklemek</th> <th>toplamak</th> <th>söylemek</th> <th>satmak </th></tr> <tr> <td><i>ben</i></td> <td>gelmiyordum</td> <td>gitmiyordum</td> <td>ağlamıyordum</td> <td>beklemiyordum</td> <td>toplamıyordum</td> <td>söylemiyordum</td> <td>satmıyordum </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>sen</i></td> <td>gelmiyordun</td> <td>gitmiyordun</td> <td>ağlamıyordun</td> <td>beklemiyordun</td> <td>toplamıyordun</td> <td>söylemiyordun</td> <td>satmıyordun </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>o</i></td> <td>gelmiyordu</td> <td>gitmiyordu</td> <td>ağlamıyordu</td> <td>beklemiyordu</td> <td>toplamıyordu</td> <td>söylemiyordu</td> <td>satmıyordu </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>biz</i></td> <td>gelmiyorduk</td> <td>gitmiyorduk</td> <td>ağlamıyorduk</td> <td>beklemiyorduk</td> <td>toplamıyorduk</td> <td>söylemiyorduk</td> <td>satmıyorduk </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>siz</i></td> <td>gelmiyordunuz</td> <td>gitmiyordunuz</td> <td>ağlamıyordunuz</td> <td>beklemiyordunuz</td> <td>toplamıyordunuz</td> <td>söylemiyordunuz</td> <td>satmıyordunuz </td></tr> <tr> <td><i>onlar</i></td> <td>gelmiyorlardı</td> <td>gitmiyorlardı</td> <td>ağlamıyorlardı</td> <td>beklemiyorlardı</td> <td>toplamıyorlardı</td> <td>söylemiyorlardı</td> <td>satmıyorlardı </td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li>The epenthetic consonant <i>y</i> is inserted between <i>-mu</i> and <i>-du</i>.</li> <li>As <i>-mu</i> and <i>-du</i> (which have a rounded back vowel) succeeds <i>-lar</i> (which has an unrounded back vowel) instead of <i>-yor</i> (which has a rounded back vowel) when the subject is the third person plural, <i>onlar</i>, they become <i>-mı</i> and <i>-dı</i> (which have an unrounded back vowel).</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Semitic_languages">Semitic languages <span class="anchor" id="Imperfect_in_Semitic_languages"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Semitic languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Semitic languages, especially the ancient forms, do not make use of the imperfect (or perfect) tense with verbs. Instead, they use the <a href="/wiki/Imperfective" class="mw-redirect" title="Imperfective">imperfective</a> and <a href="/wiki/Perfective" class="mw-redirect" title="Perfective">perfective</a> aspects, respectively. Aspects are similar to tenses, but differ by requiring contextual comprehension to know whether the verb indicates a completed or non-completed action. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Dravidian_languages">Dravidian languages <span class="anchor" id="Imperfect_in_Dravidian_languages"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Dravidian languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Malayalam">Malayalam</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Malayalam"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Malayalam" title="Malayalam">Malayalam</a> (verbs are never conjugated for <a href="/wiki/Grammatical_person" title="Grammatical person">grammatical person</a>, which is indicated by a pronoun), there are two indicative imperfects, corresponding exactly with English: </p> <dl><dd>1 -ഉകയായിരുന്നു (ukayāyirunnu) endings (<i>... was...</i>), for example: <dl><dd>ഓടുകയായിരുന്നു (ōṭukayāyirunnu) <i>... was running</i></dd></dl></dd> <dd></dd> <dd>2 -ഉമായിരുന്നു (umāyirunnu) endings (<i>... used to ...</i>), for example: <dl><dd>ഓടുമായിരുന്നു (ōṭumāyirunnu) <i>... used to run</i></dd></dl></dd> <dd></dd></dl> <ul><li>To form the "was doing" imperfect, take the infinitive ending in ഉക (uka), for example ഓടുക (ōṭuka) – to run – and add the ending – യായിരുന്നു (yāyirunnu).</li></ul> <dl><dd></dd></dl> <ul><li>To form the "used to do" imperfect, take off the ക (ka) from the end of the "uka" form and add മായിരുന്നു (māyirunnu) in its stead.</li></ul> <p>To make a verb in the imperfect negative, add അല്ല് (all) after the ഉകയ (ukaya) part of the ending for the "was doing" imperfect. For example, ഓടുകയല്ലായിരുന്നു (ōṭukayallāyirunnu) (<i>...was not running</i>). To do the same for the "used to do" imperfect, take off the ഉമ (uma) from the ending and add അത്തില്ല (attilla) instead. For example, ഓടത്തില്ലായിരുന്നു (ōṭattillāyirunnu) (<i>...didn't use to run</i>) </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bernard Comrie, <i>Tense</i>, 1985, pp. 6–7.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=imperfectus">imperfectus</a>. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. <i><a href="/wiki/A_Latin_Dictionary" title="A Latin Dictionary">A Latin Dictionary</a></i> on <a href="/wiki/Perseus_Project" class="mw-redirect" title="Perseus Project">Perseus Project</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=paratatiko/s"><span title="Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text"><span lang="grc">παρατατικός</span></span></a>. <a href="/wiki/Henry_Liddell" title="Henry Liddell">Liddell, Henry George</a>; <a href="/wiki/Robert_Scott_(philologist)" title="Robert Scott (philologist)">Scott, Robert</a>; <i><a href="/wiki/A_Greek%E2%80%93English_Lexicon" title="A Greek–English Lexicon">A Greek–English Lexicon</a></i> at the <a href="/wiki/Perseus_Project" class="mw-redirect" title="Perseus Project">Perseus Project</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091011013417/http://ultralingua.com/onlinedictionary/references/spanish/conditional.htm">"UltraLingua Online Dictionary & Grammar, "Conditional tense"<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ultralingua.com/onlinedictionary/references/spanish/conditional.htm">the original</a> on 2009-10-11.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=UltraLingua+Online+Dictionary+%26+Grammar%2C+%22Conditional+tense%22&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fultralingua.com%2Fonlinedictionary%2Freferences%2Fspanish%2Fconditional.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AImperfect" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFPokorny2007" class="citation book cs1">Pokorny, J. (2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://dnghu.org/"><i>Proto-Indo-European Etymological Dictionary</i></a>. Indo-European Language Revival Association. pp. <span class="nowrap">2906–</span>2914.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Proto-Indo-European+Etymological+Dictionary&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E2906-%3C%2Fspan%3E2914&rft.pub=Indo-European+Language+Revival+Association&rft.date=2007&rft.aulast=Pokorny&rft.aufirst=J.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdnghu.org%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AImperfect" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_Links">External Links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Imperfect&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: External Links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Otero Luque, Frank.«<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.revistaelectronicalenguaje.com/perspectivas-actuales-ensenanza-espanol/">“Enseñando el pretérito imperfecto a angloparlantes que estudian español como lengua meta”</a>.»<i>Revista Electrónica del Lenguaje, no. 11</i>, Dic. 2024, pp. 6-38.</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul 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title="Special:EditPage/Template:Grammatical aspects"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Grammatical_and_lexical_aspects134" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Grammatical_aspect" title="Grammatical aspect">Grammatical</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lexical_aspect" title="Lexical aspect">lexical aspects</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Complete vs. incomplete</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Perfective_aspect" title="Perfective aspect">Perfective</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aorist" title="Aorist">Aorist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Momentane" title="Momentane">Momentane</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semelfactive" title="Semelfactive">Semelfactive</a><sup>#</sup></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Imperfective_aspect" title="Imperfective aspect">Imperfective</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Continuous_and_progressive_aspects" title="Continuous and progressive aspects">Continuous and progressive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delimitative_aspect" title="Delimitative aspect">Delimitative</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Imperfect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iterative_aspect" title="Iterative aspect">Iterative</a>/<a href="/wiki/Distributive_aspect" title="Distributive aspect">distributive</a>/<a href="/wiki/Frequentative" title="Frequentative">frequentative</a><sup>#</sup></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Generic vs. episodic</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gnomic_aspect" title="Gnomic aspect">Gnomic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Habitual_aspect" title="Habitual aspect">Habitual</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Beginning vs. ending</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Inchoative_aspect" title="Inchoative aspect">Inchoative aspect</a>/<a href="/wiki/Inchoative_verb" title="Inchoative verb">verb</a><sup>#</sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cessative_aspect" title="Cessative aspect">Cessative</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Relative time</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Perfect_(grammar)" title="Perfect (grammar)">Perfect (Retrospective)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prospective_aspect" title="Prospective aspect">Prospective</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><sup>#</sup>Lexical aspects. 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