Importar Conjugation in Spanish

Learning to conjugate importar — «to matter, to import» — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use every day. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page covers it completely: thirteen tenses, the gerund importando and the past participle importado, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Yo importo todos los días» — I matter every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: importar
  • English: to matter, to import
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: importando
  • Past participle: importado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + importado)

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

Full conjugation tables

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

Gerund: importando · Past participle: importado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo importo
tú importas
él/ella/Ud. importa
nosotros/as importamos
vosotros/as importáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. importan

Use the present of importar for things that happen regularly and for things that are true in general. The yo form importo is the anchor of the table: the other persons follow the regular -ar endings from it. When you talk about yourself right now, this is the form you need.

Preterite

Person Form
yo importé
tú importaste
él/ella/Ud. importó
nosotros/as importamos
vosotros/as importasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. importaron

Use the preterite of importar for a single finished event: something that happened once and is over. The yo form is importé. If you can put a finished time expression with it — ayer, la semana pasada, anoche — the preterite is usually right.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo importaba
tú importabas
él/ella/Ud. importaba
nosotros/as importábamos
vosotros/as importabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. importaban

Use the imperfect of importar for what used to happen and for what was going on when something else happened. The yo form is importaba. If the action has no clear beginning or end in the story, the imperfect is the right choice.

Future

Person Form
yo importaré
tú importarás
él/ella/Ud. importará
nosotros/as importaremos
vosotros/as importaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. importarán

Use the future of importar for plans, promises and predictions. The yo form is importaré, built on the infinitive plus the future endings. For a firm plan, the future sounds more formal than ir a + infinitive; for a casual plan, either works.

Conditional

Person Form
yo importaría
tú importarías
él/ella/Ud. importaría
nosotros/as importaríamos
vosotros/as importaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. importarían

Use the conditional of importar for hypothetical situations and for softening requests. The yo form is importaría. It appears after si-clauses with the imperfect subjunctive and on its own for polite suggestions.

Present Perfect

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

Use the present perfect of importar for recent events with present relevance. The yo form is he importado — haber in the present plus importado. Time expressions like hoy, esta semana and últimamente are its natural partners.

Pluperfect

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

Use the pluperfect of importar when you need two layers of past: one event already finished before another past event began. The yo form is había importado. It is the tense of «had already done».

Future Perfect

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

Use the future perfect of importar to say that something will be finished by a future moment. The yo form is habré importado. It pairs naturally with deadlines: para mañana, para el viernes, para entonces.

Conditional Perfect

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

Use the conditional perfect of importar for the past that did not happen: what would have been done with more time or a different choice. The yo form is habría importado. It follows si-clauses with the pluperfect subjunctive.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo importe
tú importes
él/ella/Ud. importe
nosotros/as importemos
vosotros/as importéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. importen

Use the present subjunctive of importar when the main clause expresses a wish, a doubt, an emotion or an impersonal judgement. The yo form is importe. After espero que, ojalá que and no creo que, the subjunctive is required, not optional.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo importara
tú importaras
él/ella/Ud. importara
nosotros/as importáramos
vosotros/as importarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. importaran

Use the imperfect subjunctive of importar after past-tense wishes and doubts, and in si-clauses that set up a hypothetical present. The yo form is importara. It is built on the third-person plural preterite stem, which is why it looks different from the present subjunctive.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú importa
él/ella/Ud. importe
nosotros/as importemos
vosotros/as importad
ellos/ellas/Uds. importen

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

Use the affirmative imperative of importar to tell someone to do something: instructions, invitations and requests. The tú form is importa. For a polite command, use the usted form importe instead of the tú form.

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú importes
él/ella/Ud. importe
nosotros/as importemos
vosotros/as importéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. importen

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

Use the negative imperative of importar to forbid or to warn: «¡No importes!». The tú form is importes, taken from the present subjunctive. The word no always comes first, and the form never changes for emphasis.

Example sentences

  1. Yo importo todos los días. — I matter every day.
  2. Ayer yo importé por la tarde. — Yesterday I matterred in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo importaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to matter every day.
  4. Mañana yo importaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will matter without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo importaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would matter right now.
  6. Hoy yo he importado dos veces. — Today I have matterred twice.
  7. Espero que tú importes pronto. — I hope You matter soon.
  8. Si yo importara, todo sería distinto. — If I matterred, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy importando. — Right now I am matterring.
  10. ¡importa, por favor! — Matter, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo importaba.

Right: Ayer yo importé.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, importé. The imperfect importaba 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 importas.

Right: Espero que tú importes.

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

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No importa.

Right: No importes.

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

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo importar todos los días.

Right: Yo importo todos los días.

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

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He importando.

Right: He importado.

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

Quiz

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

1. What is the vosotros/as form of importar in the present indicative?

- (a) importas
- (b) importáis
- (c) importa
- (d) importo

2. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of importar in the preterite?

- (a) importó
- (b) importé
- (c) importaste
- (d) importaron

3. What is the yo form of importar in the imperfect?

- (a) importaba
- (b) importabas
- (c) importábamos
- (d) importaba

4. What is the tú form of importar in the future?

- (a) importaremos
- (b) importaré
- (c) importará
- (d) importarás

5. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of importar in the conditional?

- (a) importarías
- (b) importaríamos
- (c) importaría
- (d) importaría

6. What is the nosotros/as form of importar in the present perfect?

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

7. What is the vosotros/as form of importar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) importéis
- (b) importe
- (c) importe
- (d) importes

8. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of importar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) importara
- (b) importara
- (c) importaran
- (d) importaras

9. What is the gerund of importar?

- (a) importar
- (b) importo
- (c) importado
- (d) importando

10. What is the past participle of importar?

- (a) importé
- (b) importar
- (c) importando
- (d) importado

Answer key

1. (b) — In the present indicative, the vosotros/as form of importar is importáis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (d) — In the preterite, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of importar is importaron. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the yo form of importar is importaba. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (d) — In the future, the tú form of importar is importarás. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (c) — In the conditional, the él/ella/Ud. form of importar is importaría. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the nosotros/as form of importar is hemos importado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (a) — In the present subjunctive, the vosotros/as form of importar is importéis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (c) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of importar is importaran. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (d) — The gerund of importar is importando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy importando». 10. (d) — The past participle of importar is importado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he importado».

Frequently asked questions

Is importar regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of importar?

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

How do I say «I matter» in Spanish?

Say «Yo importo 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 importar?

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

When do I use the subjunctive with importar?

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

How do I use importar in the present perfect?

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

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