repetía

Repetía is a conjugated form of the Spanish verb repetir, used in the imperfect indicative. Specifically, repetía corresponds to the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) and, in the usted form, the formal you were repeating something in the past. As an imperfect tense, it signals a past action that was habitual, ongoing, or not presented as completed.

Morphology and related forms: the imperfect of repetir for all persons includes yo repetía, tú repetías, él/ella/usted repetía, nosotros repetíamos, vosotros repetíais, ellos repetían. The accent on the í marks the imperfect tense. The form contrasts with the preterite repetió, which denotes a completed past action, and with other tenses such as repetir in the present or future.

Usage: repetía is commonly used to describe habits or repeated actions in the past, descriptions of past scenes, or indirect speech where someone reported repeated actions in the past. It does not imply that the repetition ended at a definite point unless the context provides that boundary.

Etymology and relation: repetía derives from the Spanish verb repetir, which comes from Latin repetere (to seek again, to repeat). Repetir itself is built from re- (again) and petere (to seek, aim). In modern usage, repetía is one of several past-tense options to express repetition in the past.

Examples: “Cuando era niño, repetía las mismas preguntas una y otra vez.” “Ella repetía la lección cada día.” “El profesor decía que repetía los conceptos hasta que los estudiantes los entendían.”