Confiábamos

Confiábamos is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb confiar. It indicates that in the past the speakers or the group continuously or habitually placed trust in someone or something. The imperfect is used to describe past states, repeated actions, or background information in narratives.

Etymology and form: confiar derives from Latin confīdāre, built from con- (together) and fid- (faith, trust). Confiábamos follows the regular -ar verb conjugation in the imperfect: confiaba, confiabas, confiaba, confiábamos, confiabais, confiaban. The word carries the sense of ongoing or habitual trust rather than a single past moment.

Usage: confiábamos is typically followed by en to indicate the object of trust: confiábamos en ti; confiábamos en el equipo; confiábamos en que las cosas saldrían bien. It can express a general past attitude, a belief held over a period, or actions that relied on someone’s reliability during a continuous stretch of time.

Examples:

- Confiábamos en que todo saldría bien.

- Cuando éramos niños, confiábamos en las historias de nuestro abuelo.

- Durante la crisis, confiábamos en nuestras propias capacidades.

Related forms: confiar (present: confío, confías, confiamos), confiaba, confiabas, confiábamos, confiabais, confiaban (imperfect); imperfect subjunctive forms: confiara o confiásemos; other derivatives: confianza, confiable, confiar en. Confiábamos, like other imperfect forms, appears in descriptions of the past, settings, and habitual actions rather than isolated past events.