reddebamus

Reddebamus is a Latin verb form: the first-person plural imperfect indicative active of reddere, meaning to give back, return, or restore. The form combines the stem redd-, the imperfect marker -ebam- plus the plural ending -us, yielding reddēbāmus in classical spelling (often written as reddebamus without diacritical marks in modern texts). As an imperfect, reddebamus expresses an ongoing or customary past action: “we were giving back” or “we were returning.”

Morphologically, reddebamus is built from the verb reddere, whose basic sense is to return something to its owner or to restore something to a previous state. The prefix re- signals “back,” while -dere forms the infinitive. In the imperfect indicative, the ending -bāmus marks 1st person plural, yielding the translation appropriate to a past continuous action. The form may appear with or without macrons depending on typography, and it contrasts with related forms such as reddēbāmus (with long e in the stressed syllable), reddēbās (you were returning), or reddēbant (they were returning).

Usage and interpretation: reddebamus is standard in classical Latin texts when describing past, ongoing actions of returning or giving back. It can appear in legal, narrative, or didactic contexts where a continuous past activity is being described. In Latin grammars, reddebamus is illustrated alongside other imperfect forms to demonstrate tense and person endings and to contrast with the perfect and pluperfect results of reddere.

See also: reddere, Latin verb conjugation, imperfect indicative.