Terminábamos

The term "terminábamos" is the first-person plural (we) form of the Spanish verb "terminar" (to finish) in the imperfect past tense. It is a regular verb conjugation following the standard pattern for verbs ending in -ar. The primary function of the imperfect tense is to describe ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions in the past, or to set a scene and provide background information.

For example, the sentence "Cuando éramos niños, terminábamos nuestra tarea antes de cenar" translates to "When we were children, we used to finish our homework before dinner." In this context, "terminábamos" indicates a repeated or habitual action that occurred over an extended period in the past. It does not refer to a single, completed action, for which the preterite tense "terminamos" would be used.

This conjugation can also be employed to describe an action that was in progress when it was interrupted by another event. An illustration of this would be, "Terminábamos de comer cuando sonó el teléfono," meaning "We were finishing eating when the phone rang." Here, "terminábamos" establishes the ongoing action that was happening at the time of the interruption.

The formation of "terminábamos" follows the standard imperfect -ar verb ending: the stem "termin-" is combined with the imperfect ending "-ábamos." This conjugation is a fundamental element of narrating past events in Spanish, allowing speakers to convey nuanced temporal relationships and habitual past activities.