cambiábamos

Cambiábamos is the first-person plural form of the Spanish verb cambiar in the imperfect indicative tense. It indicates a past action that was habitual or ongoing, rather than completed. In English, it corresponds to “we used to change” or “we were changing.”

Grammatical notes: Cambiar is a regular -ar verb. In the imperfect, the endings are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. Therefore, cambiábamos follows the pattern for nosotros/as. The form is used without auxiliary verbs to describe repeated or continuous actions in the past. It contrasts with the present tense cambiamos (we change) and with other past tenses such as cambió (he/she changed) or habíamos cambiado (we had changed).

Usage and examples: Cambiábamos is commonly used to describe routines or habitual changes in the past. For example, “Cuando éramos niños, cambiábamos de planes con frecuencia” (When we were children, we used to change plans frequently). It can also appear in narrative recounting past events, e.g., “Antes de mudarnos, cambiábamos el diseño de la casa cada año.” The form is not used to express completed past actions; for completed past actions, other tenses such as the preterite would be used (cambiamos, cambié, etc.).

Related forms: The imperfect subjunctive forms of cambiar include cambiáramos or cambiásemos, depending on dialect. The participle is cambiado, and the noun cambiamiento or cambio can express the act of changing or a change itself.

Etymology: The verb cambiar derives from Latin cambiare, via Old French changer, with the general sense of exchanging, altering, or modifying.