respetabais

Respetabais is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb respetar, used with the pronoun vosotros. It expresses a habitual or ongoing action in the past, roughly translating to “you used to respect” or “you were respecting.” In contexts where the vosoteros form is not used, the corresponding imperfect for ustedes is respetaban.

The form is characteristic of dialects that use the vosotoros pronoun, primarily in Spain. In most of Latin America, where vosotros is uncommon, speakers typically use ustedes and the corresponding imperfect respetaban. Thus respetabais is best understood as a regional form tied to the second-person plural in the imperfect tense.

Morphologically, respetabais is built from the stem respet- plus the imperfect ending for -ar verbs: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. The presence of the -ais ending marks the second-person plural in this tense. The accent helps indicate the stressed syllable in the verb form.

Example: En la escuela de mi niñez, vosotros respetabais a los maestros y las normas. This illustrates the habitual past action expressed by the imperfect tense with vosotros.

Related terms include respetar (the infinitive), respetuoso (respectful), and the broader study of Spanish verb conjugation, particularly the imperfect tense and the vosotoros usage.