Laborabat

Laborabat is the third-person singular imperfect indicative active form of the Latin verb laborare, meaning to work. It expresses an ongoing or habitual action in the past, roughly equivalent to “was working” or “used to work” in English.

Formation: In the imperfect, verbs of the first conjugation like laborare form the stem labor- and add the imperfect marker ba- plus the appropriate personal ending. For laborare, the 3rd person singular form is laborabat. The full imperfect paradigm is laborabam, laborabas, laborabat, laborabamus, laborabatis, laborabant.

Usage: The form appears frequently in classical Latin. It describes actions in progress in the past, or repeated past actions, and provides background in narratives. Examples: “Miles laborabat in castris” — “The soldier was working in the camp.” “Puella laborabat quotidie” — “The girl used to work every day.”

Notes: laborabat is distinct from laboravit, the perfect tense meaning “he/she/it worked” or “has worked” depending on context. The verb itself, laborare, is the source of the English noun “labor” and has influenced many Romance languages.

See also: Latin grammar, Latin verbs, Latin conjugation, laborare.