seleccionaba

Seleccionaba is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb seleccionar. It expresses an action in the past that was ongoing, habitual, or used as background information rather than a single completed event.

Grammatically, the form can correspond to yo seleccionaba or él/ella/usted seleccionaba; the tú form is seleccionabas, while nosotros seleccionábamos, vosotros seleccionabais, and ellos/ellas/ustedes seleccionaban. The imperfect is often used to set scenes, describe routines, states, or preferences in the past, and can appear in narrative to indicate repeated or prolonged acts of choosing or selecting.

Etymology and related forms: the verb seleccionar is derived from the noun selección, which comes from Latin selectio, from selectus meaning chosen. The verb is formed by adding the -ar infinitive to the stem related to selección, and it shares semantic field with related terms such as selección (selection) and selecto (select). Variants include adverbial or adjectival derivatives like selectivamente (selectively) and selectivo (selective).

Usage notes: while seleccionaba denotes non-finalized or repeated past actions, its counterpart seleccionó (preterite) marks a completed selection event. The imperfect form is common in both spoken and written Spanish, and it often appears with time expressions that indicate duration or repetition, such as siempre, a menudo, mientras, o cuando era niño. It is used across contexts including education, employment, sports, and everyday decision-making.