querer means: to want, to like
Click to see all conjugation charts of querer in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb querer in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the querer verb conjugation. For an overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

You may also see the Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Imperfecto. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you can find additional information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Imperfecto to English

Notice that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

Note the timeline

The ability to properly locate the desired position on the timeline is an important skill for proper choice of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, reading or writing. After a bit practice you will be able to select the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Imperfecto belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each conjugated verb form consists of two words.The verb querer has a completely regular conjugation in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb simply follows the general rules for its conjugation group (-er) without any exceptions. This tense is really easy, because there are only three exceptions! The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we need to begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s very easy to do. Simply remove two letters from the end of the infinitive to get the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of our verb:

• the stem is: quer-
• and the ending is: -er

Use the stem quer- in each subject as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix or root that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. See the image on the side showing all the six endings. Note the shapes and colors of the letters. It will help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.

Also note that in verb groups -er and -ir all the endings in both Pretéterito Imperfecto and Condicional tenses are the same. Good tip to remember. The only difference is that the Condicional uses the entire infinitive as the stem.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -ía for the first person singular to create quería:

• yo quería – I wanted

And as before add the regular ending -ías for the second person singular to create querías:

• tú querías – you wanted

And add the regular ending -ía for the third person singular to create quería:

• él quería – he wanted
• ella quería – she wanted
• usted quería – (formal) you wanted

Again add the regular ending -íamos for the first person plural to create queríamos:

• nosotros queríamos – we wanted
• nosotras queríamos – (feminine) we wanted

One more time add the regular ending -íais for the second person plural to create queríais:

• vosotros queríais – (plural) you wanted
• vosotras queríais – (feminine, plural) you wanted

And as before add the regular ending -ían for the third person plural to create querían:

• ellos querían – they wanted
• ellas querían – (feminine) they wanted
• ustedes querían – (formal, plural) you wanted

Hurray! The conjugation is now complete. The final result looks as follows:

yo	quería	I wanted
tú	querías	you wanted
él/ella/usted	quería	he/she/it wanted
nosotros/nosotras	queríamos	we wanted
vosotros/vosotras	queríais	you wanted
ellos/ellas/ustedes	querían	they wanted

Click to see all conjugation charts of querer in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for example sentences and next steps.

Example sentences

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresentePretéritoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to querer visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for querer visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

---