tropeçavas

Tropeçavas is the second-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Portuguese verb tropeçar. It denotes a habitual or continuous action in the past, commonly translated as "you used to stumble" or "you were stumbling." The form is built from tropeçar with the imperfect suffix -avas for the tu form.

In modern usage, the tu form is regional: it is standard in parts of Portugal and some Brazilian dialects, while many speakers use você tropeçava in everyday speech to convey the same meaning. The corresponding forms for other subjects are eu tropeçava, ele/ela/você tropeçava, nós tropeçávamos, and eles/elas/vocês tropeçavam.

Usage notes and examples:

- Tu tropeçavas sempre na escada molhada.

- Você tropeçava com frequência quando corria.

The imperfect can express past habits or an ongoing state in the past. Tropeçar can also be used figuratively, as in stumbling over words or ideas, though the imperfect form would depend on the subject, e.g., tu tropeçavas nas palavras.

See also: tropeçar, conjugation of tropeçar, imperfect tense in Portuguese.