superar means: to beat, to exceed, to outdo, to outperform, to outplay, to outrange, to outstrip, to pass, to top
Click to see all conjugation charts of superar in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb superar 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 superar verb conjugation. For an overview of Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

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

How to translate Imperfecto to English

Note that the English phrases 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 accurately locate the desired position on the timeline is a crucial skill for proper choice of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, writing and reading. After some 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 conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb superar has regular conjugation in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means this verb simply follows the basic rules for its group (-ar) without any exceptions. This tense is really easy, as there are only three exceptions! The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we have 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 form and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of our verb:

• the stem is: super-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem super- in each subject as the basis for the conjugation, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Analyze the image showing all six endings. Note the colors and shapes of the letters. It will help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -aba for the first person singular to create superaba:

• yo superaba – I beat

And similarly add the regular ending -abas for the second person singular to create superabas:

• tú superabas – you beat

As before add the regular ending -aba for the third person singular to create superaba:

• él superaba – he beat
• ella superaba – she beat
• usted superaba – (formal) you beat

One more time add the regular ending -ábamos for the first person plural to create superábamos. Note difference in spelling

Only the first person plural has an accent here.

This difference exists only in case of the verbs from the -ar group. Other groups always have an accented i in the ending in this tense.So add the accent to get superábamos:

• nosotros superábamos – we beat
• nosotras superábamos – (feminine) we beat

Again add the regular ending -abais for the second person plural to create superabais:

• vosotros superabais – (plural) you beat
• vosotras superabais – (feminine, plural) you beat

Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -aban for the third person plural to create superaban:

• ellos superaban – they beat
• ellas superaban – (feminine) they beat
• ustedes superaban – (formal, plural) you beat

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

yo	superaba	I beat
tú	superabas	you beat
él/ella/usted	superaba	he/she/it beat
nosotros/nosotras	superábamos	we beat
vosotros/vosotras	superabais	you beat
ellos/ellas/ustedes	superaban	they beat

Click to see all conjugation charts of superar 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 some links.

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 superar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for superar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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