fomentabais

Fomentabais is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb fomentar, meaning to promote, foster, or encourage. It is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past addressed to a group of people using the vosotros form, which is standard in Spain and in some historical or formal texts.

In terms of grammar, fomentabais is formed by attaching the imperfect endings to the stem foment- for an -ar verb. The imperfect tense expresses actions that were habitual or ongoing in the past, rather than completed events. As a result, sentences like “Fomentabais iniciativas comunitarias cada verano” describe repeated past efforts rather than a single completed act.

Dialectically, the use of vosotros forms, including fomentabais, is common in Spain but much less so in most Latin American varieties, where ustedes and their corresponding third-person plural forms are preferred. In those varieties, a speaker might instead say “fomentaban” or explicitly use “ustedes fomentaban” to convey the same past action.

Etymology-wise, fomentar derives from Latin fomentare, meaning to warm, excite, or promote, and has passed into Spanish with regular -ar verb conjugation patterns in the imperfect tense. The form fomentabais reflects this regular, historical second-person plural construction.

Examples:

- Fomentabais proyectos de desarrollo local pero no lograban despegar.

- Aquel consejo gubernamental fomentabais un programa de participación ciudadana durante varios veranos.