aclarabas

Aclarabas is a conjugated form of the Spanish verb aclarar. It represents the second person singular in the imperfect indicative, used to describe ongoing or habitual clarifying actions in the past when addressing someone informal (tú). As a past-tense form, it situates clarification within a narrative or routine behavior rather than a completed moment.

Usage notes

Aclarabas is commonly used to describe clarifications that occurred regularly or over a period in the past. It can introduce explanations, distinctions, or corrections given before or during past events. In conversation, it often appears with temporal or contextual markers such as cuando, mientras, antes, o durante, to frame the clarification within a broader past scene.

Grammar

The form is built from the stem aclar- plus the imperfect endings for -ar verbs, with tú taking -abas: tú aclarabas. The full imperfect paradigm for aclarar is: yo aclaraba, tú aclarabas, él/ella aclaraba, nosotros aclarábamos, vosotros aclarabais, ellos aclaraban. Pronunciation follows standard Spanish rules, with the stress on the ra syllable and no accent mark required.

Examples

“Tú aclarabas las dudas de los compañeros durante la reunión.” “Antes de firmar, tú aclarabas los términos del contrato.” In storytelling: “Tú aclarabas la situación cuando todos estaban confundidos.”

Etymology

Aclarar derives from the Latin root related to clarity, via the feminine-leaning formation common in Spanish for making something clear or evident. The imperfect form aclarabas simply reflects the regular conjugation pattern for -ar verbs in the imperfect tense.