leías

Leías is the second-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb leer, meaning "you were reading" or "you used to read." Leer means to read, and its forms derive from Latin legere. In the imperfect tense, leer follows the regular -er verb endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. The forms leía, leías, leía, leíamos, leíais, leían all carry an acute accent on the í to indicate the correct stress.

Leías is used to describe past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or simultaneous with another past action, without specifying a definite beginning or end. It contrasts with the preterite forms leíste or leí, which mark completed actions. Examples: "Cuando era niño, tú leías mucho." "Ella decía que tú leías mientras él escribía."

Orthography and pronunciation notes: the accent on í in leía, leías, leía, leíamos, leíais, and leían is mandatory in standard Spanish to indicate the proper stress pattern of the imperfect endings. In contexts where the subject is explicit or understood, the pronoun tú may be omitted, as in "Leías cuando sonó el teléfono."

Etymology and related forms: leer comes from Latin legere. Related forms include other imperfect conjugations with the same endings (yo leía, nosotros leíamos, etc.) and the present tense forms (leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen) which show different stress patterns and spellings.

See also: conjugation patterns of -er verbs in the imperfect, and the distinction between imperfect and preterite in Spanish verb usage.