-ar verb C1 · Advanced

Conjugate imitar in Spanish

to imitate

imitar is a regular -ar verb ranked #2202 among the most common Spanish verbs. For example: "El niño imita a su padre." (The boy imitates his father.). Use the tables below for full conjugation across all 7 tenses.

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Describes current actions, habits, and general truths. The most frequently used tense — master it first.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo imito
imitas
él/ella/Ud. imita
nosotros imitamos
vosotros imitáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitan
Example

El niño imita a su padre.

The boy imitates his father.

Describes completed past actions with a clear start and end. Key signals: ayer, el lunes pasado, de repente.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo imité
imitaste
él/ella/Ud. imitó
nosotros imitamos
vosotros imitasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitaron
Example

Ayer yo imité.

Yesterday I imitate.

Describes habitual past actions, background context, and ongoing states. Key signals: siempre, normalmente, cuando era niño.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo imitaba
imitabas
él/ella/Ud. imitaba
nosotros imitábamos
vosotros imitabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitaban
Example

Antes yo imitaba con frecuencia.

Before, I used to imitate often.

Describes future events and predictions. In everyday speech, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for planned events.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo imitaré
imitarás
él/ella/Ud. imitará
nosotros imitaremos
vosotros imitaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitarán
Example

Mañana yo imitaré.

Tomorrow I will imitate.

Expresses what would happen under certain conditions — equivalent to "would" in English. Also used for polite requests.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo imitaría
imitarías
él/ella/Ud. imitaría
nosotros imitaríamos
vosotros imitaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. imitarían
Example

Si pudiera, yo imitaría.

If I could, I would imitate.

Used in clauses expressing wishes, doubt, emotion, or uncertainty — typically after que. Triggers: querer, esperar, dudar, ojalá.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo imite
imites
él/ella/Ud. imite
nosotros imitemos
vosotros imitéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. imiten
Example

Espero que tú imites.

I hope that you imitate.

Used to give commands and direct requests. Affirmative and negative forms differ significantly in Spanish.

Pronoun Conjugation
yo -
imita
él/ella/Ud. imite
nosotros imitemos
vosotros imitad
ellos/ellas/Uds. imiten
Example

El niño imita a su padre.

The boy imitates his father.

Test yourself

Type the correct conjugation for each prompt.

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Example sentences

Common phrases with imitar

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