señalabas

Señalabas is a form of the Spanish verb señalar in the imperfect indicative, 2nd person singular (tú señalabas). This form describes an action related to signaling or indicating that occurred in the past, often as a habitual or ongoing activity.

Etymology and meaning: Señalar comes from the root señ- connected to the idea of a sign or signal, derived from señas and ultimately from the Latin signum. The imperfect form señalabas expresses that the signaling happened repeatedly or over a period in past contexts, without specifying a definite beginning or end.

Usage: The imperfect tense is used to set background in narrative, describe repeated past actions, or indicate ongoing states. Therefore, tú señalabas can convey that you were signaling or pointing something out regularly in the past, or while another action was happening. It can refer to physical gestures (pointing with a finger, showing directions) or figurative signaling (indicating a conclusion or suggesting something).

Examples:

- Cuando llegamos, tú señalabas la salida con la mano para que todos supieran dónde ir.

- En la reunión, tú señalabas los errores del plan una y otra vez.

Related forms: Señalar is a regular -ar verb, so its imperfect forms follow standard endings: señalaba, señalabas, señalaba, señalábamos, señalabais, señalaban. The related nouns and phrases include señas (signs) and señalamiento (the act of signaling or pointing out).

See also: Conjugation of señalar, uses of the imperfect in Spanish, examples of signaling verbs in narrative.