invitaba

Invitaba is the imperfect tense form of the Spanish verb invitar, meaning to invite. It appears in the imperfect indicative for all persons: yo invitaba, tú invitabas, él/ella/usted invitaba, nosotros invitábamos, vosotros invitabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes invitaban. This tense is used to describe past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or background events, rather than a single completed act.

Etymology and form: Invitar derives from the Latin invitāre, meaning to invite. In the imperfect, the verb forms follow the standard -ar endings: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban, with the stem invitat-.

Usage: The imperfect tense with invitaba conveys repeated invitations or a past situation in which inviting occurred over time. It can set scene in narratives or express habitual behavior. It is contrasted with the preterite invitó, which signals a specific, completed invitation.

Examples:

- Yo invitaba a mis vecinos a la fiesta cada verano. (I used to invite my neighbors to the party each summer.)

- Ella invitaba a sus amigos a cenar los viernes. (She used to invite her friends to dinner on Fridays.)

- Cuando era niño, invitaba a todos a jugar al parque. (When I was a child, I used to invite everyone to play at the park.)

- Nosotros invitábamos a la familia a comer todos los domingos. (We used to invite the family to eat every Sunday.)

In summary, invitaba serves to describe habitual or ongoing past inviting activity in Spanish, reflecting the imperfect aspect of the verb invitar.