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Conjugation Chart of “Contraer” (to contract) in the Imperfect Tense

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense of “Contraer”

The Imperfect Tense of contraer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, for example: Contraía una enfermedad cada invierno. (I used to contract an illness every winter.)

This verb follows the accented -ía conjugation pattern in the Imperfect Tense, which is common for verbs with stems ending in a vowel.

How to Use Contraer in the Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense of contraer is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past, as well as descriptions and states of being.

To contract (an illness or debt): Por ejemplo, cada invierno contraía un resfriado. (Every winter he would catch a cold.)

To acquire (a habit or obligation): Por ejemplo, de joven contraje la costumbre de fumar. (When I was young, I acquired the habit of smoking.)

To shrink or wrinkle: Por ejemplo, la ropa se contraía después de lavarla. (The clothes would shrink after washing them.)

To contract (muscles): Por ejemplo, contraía los músculos al levantar pesas. (He would contract his muscles when lifting weights.)

To get married (colloquial): Por ejemplo, mis padres contrajeron matrimonio muy jóvenes. (My parents got married very young.)

Real Life Examples of Contraer in the Imperfect Tense

Yo contraía una deuda cada vez que pedía un préstamo. (I was incurring debt every time I took out a loan.)

Ella contraía matrimonio con su novio de la infancia. (She was getting married to her childhood sweetheart.)

Nosotros contraíamos un resfriado cada invierno. (We used to catch a cold every winter.)

Tú contraías la costumbre de llegar tarde al trabajo. (You were developing the habit of arriving late to work.)

Vosotros contraíais una gran responsabilidad al cuidar de los niños. (You all were taking on a great responsibility by caring for the children.)

Ellos contraían una enfermedad tropical durante su viaje. (They were contracting a tropical disease during their trip.)

Usted contraía una deuda con el banco cada vez que sacaba un préstamo. (You were incurring debt with the bank every time you took out a loan.)

Ustedes contraían matrimonio en una ceremonia tradicional. (You all were getting married in a traditional ceremony.)

Yo contraía un compromiso con mi comunidad al ser voluntario. (I was making a commitment to my community by volunteering.)

Tú contraías una obligación cada vez que firmabas un contrato. (You were incurring an obligation every time you signed a contract.)

Él contraía una enfermedad grave debido a su estilo de vida poco saludable. (He was contracting a serious illness due to his unhealthy lifestyle.)

Nosotros contraíamos la costumbre de ahorrar dinero para las vacaciones. (We were developing the habit of saving money for vacations.)

Vosotras contraíais un compromiso al uniros al club de lectura. (You ladies were making a commitment by joining the book club.)

Ellas contraían una deuda estudiantil para pagar la universidad. (They were incurring student debt to pay for college.)

Usted contraía una obligación cada vez que aceptaba un nuevo proyecto. (You were incurring an obligation every time you accepted a new project.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Contraer (to contract) 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.