asistíamos

Asistíamos is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb asistir. It expresses a past action that was habitual or in progress, corresponding to “we attended” or “we were attending” in English. The main use is to indicate being present at or participating in an event, activity, or location, as in we attended class or we were at the meeting.

In addition to the sense of attending, asistir also means to help or to provide assistance, often with the preposition a when referring to people or tasks. In this sense, asistir can translate as “to assist” or “to attend to.” For example, “la enfermera asistía a los pacientes” means the nurse was tending to or assisting the patients. The meaning is determined by context: attending an event versus assisting someone.

Etymology and note on usage: asistir comes from Latin assistere, meaning to stand by or to be present. In Spanish, both senses of attend or assist coexist, and many contexts use “asistir a” to indicate attendance at an event (asistimos a la conferencia) or to indicate providing care or help (asistir a alguien). The distinction is often clear from the surrounding sentence.

Conjugation details: as a regular -ir verb, asistir in the imperfect has forms such as asístía? No; the correct forms are yo asistía, tú asistías, él asistía, nosotros asistíamos, vosotros asistíais, ellos asistían. The imperfect expresses habitual past actions or background descriptions. The gerund is asistiendo and the past participle is asistido, used for compound tenses.

See also: asistencia (attendance or assistance), asistente (attendee or assistant), acudir (to go to or to respond).