íbamos

ábamos is the first-person plural imperfect indicative ending for regular -ar verbs in Spanish. It is the suffix that combines with a verb stem to form the nosotros/nosotras past tense in the imperfect aspect, used to describe ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past.

Formation and use

For regular -ar verbs, the imperfect endings are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. The form hablab- + -ábamos yields hablábamos (we were speaking / we used to speak). Examples with other verbs include camin- + -ábamos → caminábamos (we were walking / we used to walk) and trabaj- + -ábamos → trabajábamos (we were working / we used to work). The ending does not carry explicit meaning by itself; its function is determined by the verb stem and the overall tense.

Functions

The imperfect expresses actions without indicating a defined endpoint. It can describe habitual past activities ("Cuando éramos niños, íbamos al río"), describe ongoing past states, or set scene/background in narratives. It contrasts with the preterite, which marks completed past actions (“hablamos” = we spoke).

Etymology and notes

The ending derives from Latin imperfect 1st conjugation -ābāmus, preserved in Spanish as -ábamos for the nosotros form of -ar verbs. While the ending is shared among all regular -ar verbs, irregulars or stem changes may affect the stem before adding -ábamos, producing forms like hablábamos, cantábamos, estudiábamos.

Usage notes

Because the nosotros form carries the subject, explicit subject pronouns (nosotros/nosotras) are often optional. The form is common across Spanish-speaking regions and frequently appears in literature, narration, and everyday speech.