Justificabas

Justificabas is a verb form in Spanish and Portuguese derived from the verb justificar, meaning to justify or to defend a position or action. In both languages, justificabas is the second person singular imperfect indicative form, corresponding to “you were justifying” or “you used to justify.” In Spanish, this form is commonly written as tú justificabas, with the pronoun often omitted in practice.

Usage and function:

The imperfect tense expresses past actions that were habitual, repeated, ongoing, or not viewed as completed. Therefore, justificabas typically describes a past process of providing reasons or rationalizations, rather than a single completed act. It can set background in narratives, convey a habitual pattern of justification, or report what someone used to claim in the past.

Grammar notes:

Justificar is a regular -ar verb. The imperfect endings for -ar verbs in Spanish are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban; thus justificabas follows the standard pattern for tú. In Portuguese, justificar is also a regular -ar verb, and the imperfect for tu is -avas, so justificavas is the corresponding form in regions that use the informal second person singular tú/tu.

Examples:

Spanish: “Antes justificabas tus decisiones ante todos.” (Earlier you were justifying your decisions before everyone.)

Spanish: “Cuando era joven, justificabas cada error con excusas.” (When I was young, you used to justify every mistake with excuses.)

Portuguese: “Tu justificavas as tuas ações.” (You were justifying your actions.)

See also:

Justificar, Spanish verb conjugation, Portuguese conjugation, imperfect indicative.