podíais

Podíais is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of poder in Spanish, used with the subject vosotros to express past ability or possibility. It translates roughly as "you all could" or "you all were able to." The imperfect tense conveys habitual or ongoing past situations rather than a single completed action.

Conjugation and formation: poder is an irregular verb in the present, but in the imperfect it follows regular -er verb endings. Podíais combines the stem pod- with the imperfect ending -íais. Other imperfect forms include podía, podías, podíamos, podían.

Usage: Podíais is used to describe past abilities or possibilities in contexts where the vosotros form is appropriate. Examples: "Cuando teníais diez años, podíais jugar al fútbol todas las tardes." or "Si llegabais temprano, podíais entrar sin problemas." It can also appear in narrative dialogue to reflect ordinary past actions.

Regional variation: The vosotros form, and thus podíais, is standard in Spain and in some other regions that maintain the vosotros system. In most of Latin America, where the vosotros form is not used, the equivalent meaning is conveyed with ustedes podían (or simply podían in informal narration). In written or instructional material that preserves the vosotros paradigm, podíais remains the correct form.

See also: poder, Spanish verb conjugation, imperfect tense.