Imperfect tense recognition

The imperfect tense describes the past as it was unfolding: "I was loving", "she used to walk", "they were building". Where the perfect reports a finished event, the imperfect paints a background scene or a repeated habit. Its recognition sign is one of the friendliest in Latin: the syllable -ba-.

Every imperfect verb carries -bam, -bas, -bat, -bamus, -batis, -bant:

Ending	Person	Example
-bam	I was ...ing	amabam
-bas	you were ...ing	amabas
-bat	he/she was ...ing	amabat
-bamus	we were ...ing	amabamus
-batis	you (pl.) were ...ing	amabatis
-bant	they were ...ing	amabant

Examples:

• Pueri in horto ludebant. = The boys were playing in the garden.
• Cotidie ad forum ambulabam. = Every day I used to walk to the forum.
• Roma florebat. = Rome was flourishing.

For English speakers: English needs a helper word for this idea ("was", "were", "used to"), so you may look for a second word that Latin never supplies. It is all in the -ba-. Translate a single ambulabat as "he was walking" or "he used to walk", choosing whichever fits the context: ongoing action or repeated habit. Do not confuse the imperfect -bam with the future -bo / -bis / -bit of first and second conjugation verbs (amabo = "I will love"): the imperfect's giveaway is specifically the -ba- before the ending.