Señalabais

Señalabais is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb señalar, used with the vosotro s form. It translates roughly as “you all were signaling” or “you all used to signal,” indicating ongoing or habitual action in the past.

The verb señal ar comes from the noun señal, meaning signal or sign, and is related to medieval and modern uses of to indicate or point out something. The form señalabais follows the standard imperfect endings for -ar verbs in the vosotros conjugation, which is characteristic of the variety of Spanish spoken in Spain and in communities that retain the vosotros form. In most Latin American varieties, where ustedes is the default second-person plural, this form is rarely used.

Usage notes: señalabais appears in narrative or descriptive past contexts where the subject group is identified as vosotros. It can refer to pointing out information, indicating a path or location, or drawing attention to something through gesture or signaling. The imperfect conveys that the signaling was ongoing or habitual in the past.

Examples:

- En la reunión, vosotros señalabais los errores con el dedo.

- Antes de la salida, vosotros señalabais las rutas posibles para evacuar.

Comparison: In dialects that prefer ustedes, the corresponding imperfect form would be señalaban (tercera persona plural), or simplemente utilizan ustedes señalaban in certain syntactic constructions. While ustedes is used in everyday Latin American Spanish, señalabais remains a marker of the vosostros form and is most common in Spain or texts that maintain its traditional usage.