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Conjugation Chart

“Coger” (to take, catch) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Coger”

The Imperfect Tense of coger is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example, Yo cogía el autobús todos los días. (I used to take the bus every day.)

Coger is a regular -er verb, so its conjugations in the Imperfect Tense follow the regular pattern for this verb type.

How to Use Coger in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of coger is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past.

To take or grab: For example, Yo cogía el autobús todos los días (I used to take the bus every day). Ella cogía las manzanas del árbol (She would pick apples from the tree).

To catch or get: For example, De niño, cogía muchos resfriados (As a child, I used to catch many colds). Siempre cogía el tren con retraso (I would always get the delayed train).

To understand (colloquial): For example, No cogía nada de lo que decía el profesor (I didn’t understand anything the teacher was saying). ¿Cogiste el chiste? (Did you get the joke?)

To have sexual intercourse (vulgar slang): For example, Cogía con su novia cada fin de semana (He used to have sex with his girlfriend every weekend). This usage is considered very rude and should be avoided in polite conversation.

Real Life Examples of Coger in the Imperfect Tense

Yo cogía el autobús para ir al trabajo. (I used to take the bus to go to work.)

Ellos cogían un atajo por el parque para llegar más rápido. (They would take a shortcut through the park to get there faster.)

Tú cogías mucha confianza con tus amigos. (You would get very comfortable with your friends.)

Nosotros cogíamos las maletas y nos íbamos de vacaciones. (We would grab the suitcases and go on vacation.)

Ustedes cogían un resfriado cada invierno. (You all would catch a cold every winter.)

Ella cogía el tren para visitar a su familia. (She would take the train to visit her family.)

Vosotros cogíais el camino más largo por diversión. (You all would take the longer path for fun.)

Él cogía un atajo para llegar temprano al trabajo. (He would take a shortcut to get to work early.)

¿Cogías el mismo autobús todas las mañanas? (Would you take the same bus every morning?)

Mis amigos y yo cogíamos un taxi después de salir de fiesta. (My friends and I would take a taxi after going out partying.)

Cuando era niño, cogía una siesta todas las tardes. (When I was a child, I would take a nap every afternoon.)

En la universidad, cogíamos apuntes en clase para estudiar después. (In university, we would take notes in class to study later.)

Mis padres cogían un vuelo para ir de vacaciones al extranjero. (My parents would take a flight to go on vacation abroad.)

¿Cogíais el mismo camino para ir al trabajo todos los días? (Would you all take the same route to go to work every day?)

Ellas cogían un taxi cuando salían de noche. (They would take a taxi when they went out at night.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Coger (to take, catch) in the Imperfect Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Imperfect tense is also known as the Past Imperfect, Descriptive Past, Past Progressive, or Imperfect Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Imperfecto, Copretérito, Imperfecto de Indicativo, or Pasado Descriptivo in Spanish.