escuchaba

Escuchaba is the first and third person singular form of the imperfect indicative of the Spanish verb escuchar (to listen). As an imperfect tense form, escuchaba is used to describe habitual past actions, background or ongoing actions in the past, and situations without a defined beginning or end. It corresponds to English expressions like "used to listen," "would listen," or "was listening."

As a regular -ar verb, escuchar follows the standard imperfect conjugation pattern: yo escuchaba, tú escuchabas, él/ella/usted escuchaba, nosotros escuchábamos, vosotros escuchabais, ellos/ustedes escuchaban. Phonetically, escuchaba is often pronounced [eskuˈt͡ʃaβa] in many varieties of Spanish.

Typical uses include describing repeated past actions (Cuando era niño, escuchaba música todos los días — When I was a child, I listened to music every day), setting background scenes (Mientras estudiaba, escuchaba la radio — While I was studying, I was listening to the radio), or expressing past mental states related to listening. It contrasts with the preterite escuché (single completed actions) and with the past progressive estaba escuchando (emphasizing an action in progress at a particular moment).

Etymologically, escuchar derives from Vulgar Latin forms related to Latin auscultare (to listen), and has evolved into the modern Spanish verb with regular morphology. Related forms include the participle escuchado and the gerund escuchando.