contestaba

Contestaba is a conjugated form of the Spanish verb contestar, meaning to answer or respond. It is the imperfect indicative form, used for actions in the past that were ongoing, habitual, or not bounded in time. Because contestar is a regular -ar verb, contestaba can serve for either yo contestaba or él/ella/Usted contestaba, with the subject implied from context.

In usage, contestaba describes past activities that were ongoing or repeated. It can appear in narrative to set background or describe routines, and it is often accompanied by time expressions such as cuando, siempre, a veces, or cada día. The form can be clarified by the surrounding sentence or explicit subject pronouns when needed.

Examples:

- Yo contestaba la pregunta cuando sonó la campana. (I was answering the question when the bell rang.)

- Ella contestaba todas las preguntas del profesor con paciencia. (She used to answer all the professor’s questions with patience.)

Related forms include other imperfect conjugations of contestar (tú contestabas, él contestaba, nosotros contestábamos, vosotros contestabais, ellos contestaban) and the present tense (contesta) and other tenses such as contestó (preterite) and contestará (future). The form contestaba, like other imperfect forms, conveys aspect rather than a definite endpoint, aligning with descriptions of past habits, routines, or simultaneous actions in narratives.