combatías

Combatías is the second-person singular form of the Spanish verb combatir in the imperfect indicative tense. It corresponds to the English “you were fighting” or “you used to fight” and is used to describe past actions that were ongoing or habitual, often with time cues such as cuando, mientras, or a menudo.

Formation and usage: The imperfect endings for -ir verbs are -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. From the stem combat-, combatías is formed with the ending -ías. The accent on í indicates the correct stress: combatías. Pronunciation is roughly kom-ba-TÍ-as. The form can refer to physical fighting or to figurative struggles, as in fighting against problems or opposition.

Notes on usage: Combatías appears in standard Spanish across dialects and is common in narration and descriptive past contexts. It contrasts with the preterite combataste (a completed past action) and with the present combates (you fight).

Examples:

- Durante la campaña, tú combatías al lado de tus compañeros.

- Cuando eras joven, tú combatías la injusticia con determinación.

See also: other imperfect forms of combatir (yo combatía, él combatía, nosotros combatíamos, vosotros combatíais, ellos combatían) and related verbs with similar conjugation patterns.