Jugabas

Jugabas is the second-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb jugar, meaning you used to play or you were playing. It is used to describe habitual actions in the past, or ongoing states and scenes in narrative, rather than a single completed event. The form combines the stem jug- with the imperfect ending -abas, which is the standard ending for tú in -ar verbs.

In contrast to the preterite jugaste, which marks a completed past action, jugabas conveys repetition, regularity, or background detail. It is common with time expressions such as cuando era niño, a menudo, siempre, or mientras to indicate simultaneity or routine.

Examples:

- Cuando era niño, jugabas con tus amigos en el parque. (When I was a child, you used to play with your friends in the park.)

- Todos los veranos jugabas al fútbol hasta el anochecer. (Every summer you used to play soccer until sunset.)

- Si te quedabas más tiempo, jugabas otra partida. (If you stayed longer, you would play another game.)

Usage notes:

- Jugabas agrees in number and person with the subject in the past. If the subject is usted (formal you) or ustedes, related forms are jugaba or jugaban with appropriate endings.

- In spoken Spanish, the imperfect imperfective meaning can be clarified with context or adverbs, since other tenses could convey similar ideas in different contexts.

Etymology and related forms:

- Jugabas comes from jugar, an -ar verb meaning “to play.” The imperfect endings for -ar verbs are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban, with jug- as the stem for this verb.