ayudaban

Ayudaban is the third-person plural imperfect form of the Spanish verb ayudar. It is used in the imperfect indicative tense to express past actions that were ongoing or habitual, translated as "they were helping" or "they used to help."

The imperfect is used to describe actions without a defined endpoint, background descriptions, or repeated events in the past. It is often contrasted with the preterite, which marks completed actions. For ayudaban, this means a group of people were helping in a context or repeatedly helped over a period.

Conjugation pattern: ayudar is a regular -ar verb. Imperfect endings are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. Therefore, ellos/ellas/ustedes ayudaban is the form for "they/you all were helping." Other forms include: yo ayudaba, tú ayudabas, él ayudaba, nosotros ayudábamos, vosotros ayudabais.

Examples: "Durante la emergencia, ellos ayudaban a los vecinos." "Cuando era niño, ayudaban a veces en la tienda del barrio." The imperfect can express repeated past actions; for a single completed act, the preterite "ayudaron" would be used.

Etymology and related forms: ayudaban derives from the verb ayudar, which comes from Latin adiuvare. Related forms include present ayuda, gerund ayudando, and participle ayudado.