Laborabam

Laborabam is a Latin verb form that represents the first-person singular imperfect active indicative of the verb laborare, meaning to work or to toil. In English, it translates as “I was working” or “I used to work.” The imperfect tense describes ongoing or repeated action in the past and is commonly found in classical Latin prose and poetry.

Morphology and conjugation

Laborabam is formed from the first conjugation verb laborare. It uses the present stem labor- with the imperfect endings -bam, -bas, -bat, -bamus, -batis, -bant, and in the first person singular yields laborabam. The standard full imperfect paradigm for this verb is:

laborabam, laborabas, laborabat, laborabamus, laborabatis, laborabant.

The vowel before the endings is long ā, giving the form its characteristic appearance.

Usage notes

Laborabam occurs in contexts describing past, ongoing activity or habitual past actions. It is typically contrasted with the perfect tense, which indicates a completed action. The form is specific to the imperfect aspect; other tenses of laborare use different endings, such as laboro (present) and laboravi (perfect).

Examples

- Laborabam in agro. I was working in the field.

- Laborabas quotidie. You were working every day.

- Laborabat milites multi dies. The soldiers were working for many days.

Etymology

Laborare derives from the Latin root labor-, meaning work or toil, with the common -are infinitive ending for the first conjugation. Laborabam therefore combines this stem with the imperfect active suffix.