Costar imperfect conjugation
Costar in the imperfect: costaba, costabas, costaba, costábamos, costabais, costaban.
- to cost; to be hard (for someone)
- stem-changing (o→ue)
- Participle: costado
- Gerund: costando
Imperfect imperfecto
| yo | costaba |
|---|---|
| tú | costabas |
| él/ella/usted | costaba |
| nosotros | costábamos |
| vosotros | costabais |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | costaban |
How to use costar in the imperfect
The imperfect is regular: costaba, costaban. Use it for past prices and for difficulties over a period: Antes la gasolina costaba menos, Al principio me costaba entender el acento. It describes a continuing situation rather than a single purchase, which makes it ideal for comparisons with today. It is also the tense for struggles you had for a while, such as learning a language or adjusting to a new job.
Examples
Antes la gasolina costaba la mitad.
Gas used to cost half as much.
Al principio me costaba entender el acento argentino.
At first I found the Argentine accent hard to understand.
Las casas en este barrio costaban muy poco hace veinte años.
Houses in this neighborhood cost very little twenty years ago.
Quick check: costar in the imperfect
More costar tenses
- All costar tenses
- Costar present
- Costar preterite
- Costar future
- Costar conditional
- Costar present subjunctive
- Costar affirmative commands
Other verbs in the imperfect
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