Make Your Own Costume in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to make your own costume in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• talk about sewing and costumes

• use the imperfect subjunctive to talk about conditional outcomes

• discuss habits in the past

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Nouns

Spanish	English
el ajuste	alteration
el boceto	sketch
el disfraz	costume
el hilo	thread
el retoque	finishing touch
la tela	fabric

examples
¿Tu madre hacía ajustes al disfraz? Did your mother make alterations to the costume?
Sí, después de que decidiéramos el disfraz. Yes, after we decided on the costume.
Sí, después de que ella le hiciera todos los retoques. Yes, after she put the finishing touches on it.

Verb

In this skill, you learn the following verb!

Spanish	English
coser	to sew

Coser

Coser(to sew) is an -er verb that is regular in the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	cosiera	I sewed
tú	cosieras	you sewed	informal singular you
vos	cosieras	you sewed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	cosiera	he, she sewed
usted	cosiera	you sewed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	cosiéramos	we sewed
vosotros, vosotras	cosierais	you sewed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	cosieran	they sewed
ustedes	cosieran	you sewed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Verb Phrase

In this skill, you learn the following verb phrase!

Spanish	English
tomar las medidas	to take measurements

Tomar Las Medidas

Tomar las medidas(to take measurements) is an -ar verb phrase that is regular in the imperfect subjunctive.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tomara las medidas	I took measurements
tú	tomaras las medidas	you took measurements	informal singular you
vos	tomaras las medidas	you took measurements	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tomara las medidas	he, she took measurements
usted	tomara las medidas	you took measurements	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tomáramos las medidas	we took measurements
vosotros, vosotras	tomarais las medidas	you took measurements	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tomaran las medidas	they took measurements
ustedes	tomaran las medidas	you took measurements	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

The Imperfect Subjunctive

The imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) follows many of the same rules as the present subjunctive. Introduced with a preterite, imperfect, conditional, or past perfect WEIRDO verb in the independent clause, the imperfect subjunctive often refers to a previous experience, but it can also refer to unlikely events or possibilities.

Finding the Imperfect Subjunctive Stem

The imperfect subjunctive uses the third person plural of the preterite (minus the -ron). The third person preterite form of a verb, whether regular or irregular, becomes the base for the imperfect subjunctive stem.

Imperfect Subjunctive Endings

When conjugating the imperfect subjunctive, you can choose from two different sets of endings. Both are correct, though the first set, whose yo ending is -ra, is more widespread. For this reason, we use the -ra endings in these lessons.

Subject	Subjunctive 1 Endings	Subjunctive 2 Endings
yo	-ra	-se
tú	-ras	-ses
él, ella, usted	-ra	-se
nosotros, nosotras	-ramos	-semos
vosotros, vosotras	-rais	-seis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-ran	-sen

Imperfect Subjunctive Uses

The imperfect subjunctive can be used to talk about past occurrences, current opinions of past events, doubts and wishes, uncertainty, and conditional outcomes. It can also be used in if clauses and polite requests.

The following phrases indicate conditional outcomes with time limitations: