arruinabas

Arruinabas is the second-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb arruinar, meaning to ruin or spoil. In grammatical terms, it expresses a past action that was ongoing, habitual, or not completed at a reference time, often describing how something was being spoiled in a narrative or conversational context.

Formation and usage: The verb arruinar is regular in the imperfect; for tú, the ending is -abas, yielding arruinabas. The stem arruin- remains stable, with no stem change in this tense. It is used with direct objects, as in arruinabas la sorpresa, meaning you were ruining the surprise. In Spanish, this form commonly appears in storytelling, recollections, or reported speech to set the background for events that unfolded over time.

Usage nuances: Arruinabas contrasts with the preterite arruinaste, which marks a completed past action. The imperfect form can convey duration, repetition, or a habitual tendency within a past situation. It can also appear in subordinate clauses to describe ongoing past circumstances that frame a main action, and it may carry a figurative sense when referring to plans, plans, or moods being spoiled rather than literal ruin.

Examples:

- Tú arruinabas la sorpresa al contar el final antes de tiempo. (You were ruining the surprise by revealing the ending too soon.)

- Anoche, arruinabas nuestra cita al llegar tarde sin avisar. (Last night, you were ruining our date by arriving late without warning.)

- En la historia, los personajes arruinaban los planes de la ciudad con actos imprudentes. (In the story, the characters were ruining the city’s plans with reckless acts.)

See also: arruinar, Spanish verb conjugation, imperfect tense.