adornabamus

Adornabamus is the Latin imperfect active indicative form of the verb adornare, meaning to adorn or decorate. This form expresses ongoing or repeated past action and translates as “we were adorning” or “we used to adorn.”

Form and grammar: adornabamus is the first person plural, imperfect tense, active voice, of the 1st conjugation verb adornare. The imperfect endings for the 1st conjugation are -bam, -bas, -bat, -bamus, -batis, -bant, attached to the present stem adorn-. In standard Latin spelling, vowel length is often indicated with macrons in scholarly editions.

Usage: The imperfect form commonly appears in classical Latin prose and poetry to set scenes or describe background actions, such as decoration, preparations, or repeated past activities. It conveys a sense of continuous or habitual past activity rather than a single completed event.

Examples:

- Nos adornabamus ornamenta in atrio. Translation: We were adorning the ornaments in the atrium.

- Antequam spectaculum inciperet, adornabamus vestes et alia ornamenta. Translation: Before the show began, we were adorning robes and other adornments.

Notes: adornabamus is a standard example of how Latin marks aspect and time through verb endings rather than separate adverbs. It is derived from adornare (to adorn), the infinitive form, with the normal imperfect endings applied to the present stem.