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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 Imperfect Tense conjugations follow the regular pattern for that 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 todas las mañanas. (I used to take the bus every morning.)

To catch or pick up: For example, Ella cogía flores del jardín. (She used to pick flowers from the garden.)

To get or obtain (colloquial): For example, Cogía mucha plata trabajando de noche. (I used to get a lot of money working at night.)

To have sexual intercourse (vulgar slang): For example, Él cogía con cualquier mujer que se le cruzara. (He used to have sex with any woman he came across.)

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.)

Ella cogía un atajo para llegar más rápido a la escuela. (She used to take a shortcut to get to school faster.)

Nosotros cogíamos un taxi cuando llegábamos tarde. (We used to take a taxi when we were running late.)

Ellos cogían prestado dinero de sus padres. (They used to borrow money from their parents.)

Tú cogías el tren para visitar a tu abuela. (You used to take the train to visit your grandmother.)

Él cogía un avión cada mes por su trabajo. (He used to take a plane every month for his job.)

Ustedes cogían un taxi cuando salían de fiesta. (You guys used to take a taxi when you went out partying.)

Ellas cogían el metro para ir de compras. (They used to take the subway to go shopping.)

Yo cogía un atajo por el parque para llegar más rápido. (I used to take a shortcut through the park to get there faster.)

Tú cogías un resfriado cada invierno. (You used to catch a cold every winter.)

Él cogía el sol en la playa los fines de semana. (He used to sunbathe at the beach on weekends.)

Nosotros cogíamos un descanso después del almuerzo. (We used to take a break after lunch.)

Ustedes cogían un atajo por el callejón. (You guys used to take a shortcut through the alley.)

Ellos cogían un taxi cuando llovía. (They used to take a taxi when it rained.)

Ella cogía el autobús para ir al trabajo los días de semana. (She used to take the bus to go to work on weekdays.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

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

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.