Imitar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb imitar means to imitate, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. It is a regular -ar verb verb: the stem is imit and the endings follow the -ar pattern, with the exceptions noted in the tables below. This page gives you the complete picture — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say «Yo imito todos los días», which means «I imitate every day». Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: imitar
  • English: to imitate
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: imitando
  • Past participle: imitado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + imitado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for imitar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for imitar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Gerund: imitando · Past participle: imitado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo imito
tú imitas
él/ella/Ud. imita
nosotros/as imitamos
vosotros/as imitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For imitar, the yo form is imito, as in the examples below. Use the present for routines («todos los días») and for general truths, and remember that Spanish often uses the present where English would use a progressive or a near future.

Preterite

Person Form
yo imité
tú imitaste
él/ella/Ud. imitó
nosotros/as imitamos
vosotros/as imitasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. «Ayer yo imité» is the classic use. Do not confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite moves the story forward, one finished event at a time.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo imitaba
tú imitabas
él/ella/Ud. imitaba
nosotros/as imitábamos
vosotros/as imitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. «De pequeño, yo imitaba» shows the habitual use. It sets the scene while the preterite reports what happened inside it.

Future

Person Form
yo imitaré
tú imitarás
él/ella/Ud. imitará
nosotros/as imitaremos
vosotros/as imitaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitarán

The future tense states what will happen. For imitar the future is built on the infinitive: «Mañana yo imitaré». It is also used for predictions and promises, and in spoken Spanish it often alternates with ir a + infinitive.

Conditional

Person Form
yo imitaría
tú imitarías
él/ella/Ud. imitaría
nosotros/as imitaríamos
vosotros/as imitaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. «Si tuviera más tiempo, yo imitaría» is the typical pattern. It shares its stem with the future and changes only the endings.

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he imitado
tú has imitado
él/ella/Ud. ha imitado
nosotros/as hemos imitado
vosotros/as habéis imitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han imitado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. It is haber in the present plus the past participle: «Hoy yo he imitado». In Spain it is used for anything that happened today; in Latin America the preterite is often preferred.

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había imitado
tú habías imitado
él/ella/Ud. había imitado
nosotros/as habíamos imitado
vosotros/as habíais imitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían imitado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event: «Cuando llegué, ya había imitado». It is haber in the imperfect plus the past participle, and it is the tense for explaining what had already happened when something else took place.

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré imitado
tú habrás imitado
él/ella/Ud. habrá imitado
nosotros/as habremos imitado
vosotros/as habréis imitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán imitado

The future perfect looks back from a future point: by then, something will already have happened. «Para mañana, yo habré imitado» is the pattern — haber in the future plus the past participle. It is less common in speech but regular in formal writing.

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría imitado
tú habrías imitado
él/ella/Ud. habría imitado
nosotros/as habríamos imitado
vosotros/as habríais imitado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían imitado

The conditional perfect expresses what would have happened: «Yo habría imitado si hubiera podido». It is haber in the conditional plus the past participle, and it is the tense for regrets and missed chances.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo imite
tú imites
él/ella/Ud. imite
nosotros/as imitemos
vosotros/as imitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imiten

The present subjunctive appears after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions: «Espero que él imite». The trigger is in the main clause; the subjunctive is the mood of uncertainty, desire and influence. Learn the yo form first — most of the table follows from it.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo imitara
tú imitaras
él/ella/Ud. imitara
nosotros/as imitáramos
vosotros/as imitarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitaran

The imperfect subjunctive is the past partner of the present subjunctive, used after past-tense triggers and in si-clauses: «Si él imitara, todo sería distinto». The table above shows the -ra forms, the ones you will hear most often. There is also a less common -se set built on the same stem.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú imita
él/ella/Ud. imite
nosotros/as imitemos
vosotros/as imitad
ellos/ellas/Uds. imiten

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative gives direct commands and instructions: «¡imita!». There is no yo form — you cannot command yourself. The tú form is the one you will use with friends and family, and the usted form with people you address formally.

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú imites
él/ella/Ud. imite
nosotros/as imitemos
vosotros/as imitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imiten

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative tells someone not to do something: «¡No imites!». Unlike the affirmative imperative, the negative forms come from the present subjunctive, which is why they look different. Never use the affirmative form after no.

Example sentences

  1. Yo imito todos los días. — I imitate every day.
  2. Ayer yo imité por la tarde. — Yesterday I imitated in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo imitaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to imitate every day.
  4. Mañana yo imitaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will imitate without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo imitaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would imitate right now.
  6. Hoy yo he imitado dos veces. — Today I have imitated twice.
  7. Espero que tú imites pronto. — I hope You imitate soon.
  8. Si yo imitara, todo sería distinto. — If I imitated, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy imitando. — Right now I am imitating.
  10. ¡imita, por favor! — Imitate, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo imitaba.

Right: Ayer yo imité.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, imité. The imperfect imitaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú imitas.

Right: Espero que tú imites.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: imites, not the indicative imitas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No imita.

Right: No imites.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no imites. The affirmative imita can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo imitar todos los días.

Right: Yo imito todos los días.

The infinitive imitar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo imito.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He imitando.

Right: He imitado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he imitado. The gerund imitando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy imitando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the nosotros/as form of imitar in the present indicative?

- (a) imita
- (b) imitas
- (c) imito
- (d) imitamos

2. What is the vosotros/as form of imitar in the preterite?

- (a) imitó
- (b) imitasteis
- (c) imité
- (d) imitaste

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of imitar in the imperfect?

- (a) imitabas
- (b) imitaba
- (c) imitaba
- (d) imitaban

4. What is the yo form of imitar in the future?

- (a) imitará
- (b) imitarás
- (c) imitaremos
- (d) imitaré

5. What is the tú form of imitar in the conditional?

- (a) imitarías
- (b) imitaría
- (c) imitaría
- (d) imitaríamos

6. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of imitar in the present perfect?

- (a) hemos imitado
- (b) ha imitado
- (c) has imitado
- (d) he imitado

7. What is the nosotros/as form of imitar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) imites
- (b) imitemos
- (c) imite
- (d) imite

8. What is the vosotros/as form of imitar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) imitara
- (b) imitaras
- (c) imitara
- (d) imitarais

9. What is the gerund of imitar?

- (a) imitando
- (b) imitar
- (c) imitado
- (d) imito

10. What is the past participle of imitar?

- (a) imitado
- (b) imité
- (c) imitar
- (d) imitando

Answer key

1. (d) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of imitar is imitamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (b) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of imitar is imitasteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (d) — In the imperfect, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of imitar is imitaban. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the yo form of imitar is imitaré. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the conditional, the tú form of imitar is imitarías. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (b) — In the present perfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of imitar is ha imitado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (b) — In the present subjunctive, the nosotros/as form of imitar is imitemos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (d) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the vosotros/as form of imitar is imitarais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (a) — The gerund of imitar is imitando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy imitando». 10. (a) — The past participle of imitar is imitado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he imitado».

Frequently asked questions

Is imitar regular or irregular?

Yes — imitar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem imit unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of imitar?

The gerund is imitando and the past participle is imitado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy imitando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he imitado»).

How do I say «I imitate» in Spanish?

Say «Yo imito todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of imitar?

Use the preterite (imité) for a single finished event and the imperfect (imitaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo imité» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo imitaba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with imitar?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú imites». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

How do I use imitar in the present perfect?

Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he imitado». The participle imitado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.

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