Havíamos

Havíamos is not a standard or accepted form in modern Spanish. The correct spelling is habíamos, the first-person plural imperfect indicative of the auxiliary verb haber. This form is used to create the pluscuamperfecto (also called the pasado anterior in some contexts), indicating an action that had been completed before another past action.

In use, habíamos accompanies a past participle to express completed past actions. Examples include: Habíamos terminado el informe antes de la reunión. Cuando llegaste, ya habíamos comido. These constructions show that the event occurred prior to another point in the past.

Spelling and orthography notes indicate that havíamos is a nonstandard misspelling. The h at the beginning is silent in standard Spanish, but the correct stem consonant for this verb form is b, not v. In formal writing and most edited text, the form habíamos is required. If encountered, havíamos should be corrected to habíamos.

Etymology and morphology: habíamos comes from haber plus the imperfect ending -ábamos, with the stress on the i (habí-á-mos). As an auxiliary, haber provides the necessary tense, while the past participle (e.g., terminado, comido) conveys the main action.

See also: pluscuamperfecto, haber, haber + participle.