quebraban

Quebraban is the conjugated form of the Spanish verb quebrar in the pretérito imperfecto de indicativo, specifically the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes). The verb quebrar means to break, fracture, or snap. As a result, quebraban is used to describe past actions that were habitual, ongoing, or not completed at a certain past time, providing background or setting in a narrative.

In usage, quebraban often appears in descriptions of repeated or customary past events. It can convey physical breaking as in objects, or more figurative meanings such as breaking a record, breaking a habit, or breaking one’s patience, depending on context. The construction with the pronouns ellos/ellas/ustedes makes it clear that the subject is plural.

Examples:

- Las ventanas se quebraban con frecuencia durante las lluvias intensas.

- En aquella época, las vasijas de barro se quebraban al caer.

Grammatical notes:

- Quebraban agrees in number with the subject (they).

- It is contrasted with the other past tenses in Spanish, such as the pretérito perfecto simple, which would express a completed action in the past (por ejemplo, quebraron).

Comparative note:

- In Portuguese, the equivalent imperfect form for the same verb is quebravam (they were breaking). The form quebraban is characteristic of Spanish, illustrating a common cross-language similarity and difference between the two Iberian languages.

See also:

- Quebrar (to break)

- Pretérito imperfecto de indicativo (imperfect tense)

- Conjugation patterns of -ar verbs in Spanish