decíais

Decíais is a verb form in Spanish. It is the second-person plural imperfect indicative (pretérito imperfecto) of the verb decir, used with the pronoun vosotros. The form expresses an action in the past that was habitual, ongoing, or background to another action, such as in narration or description. The imperfect forms of decir are: decía, decías, decía, decíamos, decíais, decían.

Orthography and grammar notes: decíais contains an acute accent on the í to indicate the correct stress pattern for the vosotros imperfect form. This distinguishes it from other potential spellings and from forms in other tenses. Like decir, decíais belongs to an irregular verb in other tenses, but in the imperfect it follows the standard vosotros ending -íais for -er/-ir verbs.

Geographic and usage context: decíais is primarily found in Peninsular Spanish, where the vosotros form is common. In most Latin American dialects, where vosotros is not used, the corresponding imperfect 2nd person plural is decían (with ustedes). Therefore, decíais is often encountered in Spain, in historical texts, literature, or dialogue that aims to reflect the vosotros-register.

Example usages: "Cuando érais jóvenes, decíais siempre la verdad." "¿Qué decíais cuando el profesor entró?" These illustrate habitual past actions or inquiries directed at a group addressed as vosotros. See also: decir, vosotros, pretérito imperfecto, español dialectal variation.