nombrabais

Nombrabais is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb nombrar, used in peninsular Spanish varieties with the pronoun vosotros. The form is built from the verb stem nombr- plus the imperfect ending -abais, following the regular -ar conjugation pattern.

Etymology and form

Nombrar derives from Latin nominare, meaning to name or to mention. The imperfect vosotros ending -abais is a standard feature of the imperfect tense for -ar verbs in Spain, producing the form nombrabais for the second-person plural.

Usage

In modern Latin American Spanish, the vosotros forms are generally not used, and vosotros nombrabais is uncommon outside of teaching materials or regional speech. In Spain, nombrabais is common in informal contexts and in literature when addressing a group informally. It can appear in historical or dialectal texts and expresses habitual past action or a past ongoing action.

Variants

Other imperfect forms of nombrar include: yo nombraba, tú nombrabas, él/ella/Ud. nombraba, nosotros nombrábamos, vosotros nombrabais, ellos/ellas/Uds. nombraban. When the subject is ustedes, nombraban is used in most dialects, including many Latin American varieties.

Examples

Vosotros nombrabais a las calles con nombres curiosos cuando éramos niños.

See also

Nombrar; Spanish verb conjugation; Imperfect tense; Vosotros usage.