imperfect subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive tense is derived from the third-person plural form (ellos/ellas/ustedes) of the preterit and. Whatever changes occur in that form will also occur in all six forms of the imperfect subjunctive. You must be familiar with the preterit tense to be able to form the imperfect subjunctive correctly. To form it, the –ron of the preterit is dropped and one of the two imperfect subjunctive endings is added: -ra or –se. The most commonly used one is –ra.

caminaron => camina + ra/se

yo caminara
I walked
tú caminaras
you walked
él/ella/usted caminara
he/she/you walked
nosotros camináramos
we walked
vosotros caminarais
you walked
ellos/ellas/ustedes caminaran
they/you walked
yo caminase
I walked
tú caminases
you walked
él/ella/usted caminase
he/she/you walked
nosotros caminásemos
we walked
vosotros caminaseis
you walked
ellos/ellas/ustedes caminasen
they/you walked

movieron => movie + ra/se

yo moviera
I moved
tú movieras
you moved
él/ella/usted moviera
he/she/you moved
nosotros moviéramos
we moved
vosotros movierais
you moved
ellos/ellos/ustedes movieran
they/you moved
yo moviese
I moved
tú movieses
you moved
él/ella/usted moviese
he/she/you moved
nosotros moviésemos
we moved
vosotros movieseis
you moved
ellos/ellas/ustedes moviesen
they/you moved

1. The Imperfect subjunctive replaces the present subjunctive when the verb of the main clause is in the past (preterit, imperfect or past perfect).
- Queria que te vinieras conmigo. (I wanted you to come with me.)
2. It is used when a hypothesis or condition is being expressed.
- Si quisieran, vendrian con nostros. (if they wanted to, they would come with us.)
3. The imperfect subjunctive is often used after the word “ojala” to express a wish for something that will most likely not occur.
- Ojala que pudieras conocer a mi hermano. (I wish you could meet my brother.)