Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros con la camisa blanca.

Llevaba is the imperfect form of llevar. In this sentence, it describes what your grandfather was wearing as part of the background or ongoing description.

Spanish often uses the imperfect for:

• descriptions
• habitual actions in the past
• background information

So Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros... means something like:

• My grandfather was wearing black suspenders...
• My grandfather used to wear black suspenders... (depending on context)

If you said llevó, that would sound more like a completed event at a specific moment:

• He wore... / He put on... in a more bounded, finished sense

For describing someone’s appearance in a scene, llevaba is much more natural.

Yes, llevar often means to carry, to take, or to bring, but it also very commonly means to wear when talking about clothes, accessories, hair, etc.

Examples:

• Lleva gafas. = He/She wears glasses.
• Llevaba una chaqueta azul. = He/She was wearing a blue jacket.
• Lleva barba. = He has/is wearing a beard.

So in this sentence, llevaba means was wearing.

In Spanish from Spain, tirantes usually means suspenders in British English or braces in British English for clothing; in American English, the usual translation is suspenders.

So:

• tirantes = the straps worn over the shoulders to hold trousers up

Be careful: in some contexts, learners may confuse this with other meanings. Depending on region, tirantes can also refer to straps, but here it clearly means the clothing item because of the context.

Because Spanish adjectives usually agree with the noun in gender and number.

• tirantes is masculine plural, so the adjective is negros
• camisa is feminine singular, so the adjective is blanca

Agreement here:

• tirantes negros = black suspenders
• camisa blanca = white shirt

This is one of the most important patterns in Spanish:

• masculine singular: negro
• feminine singular: negra
• masculine plural: negros
• feminine plural: negras

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English would use a possessive like his, her, or their, especially when the owner is already obvious from the context.

Here, because the sentence is already about mi abuelo, it is understood that the shirt is his:

• Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros con la camisa blanca.

This can sound more natural in Spanish than repeating possession.

That said, su camisa blanca is also possible, but it can feel more explicit. La camisa blanca simply describes the outfit in a natural way.

Here con means with.

It connects the two clothing items:

• tirantes negros con la camisa blanca = black suspenders with the white shirt

It describes the combination of clothes your grandfather was wearing.

In other words, he was wearing:

• black suspenders
• together with a white shirt

Yes, that is the natural interpretation.

The phrase con la camisa blanca means with the white shirt, and in this clothing context it implies that the white shirt was part of the outfit.

Spanish often avoids repeating the verb:

• Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros con la camisa blanca instead of something more repetitive like:
• Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros y llevaba la camisa blanca

So yes, the sentence suggests he was wearing both the suspenders and the white shirt.

Because estar + gerund is not normally used in Spanish the same way English uses was wearing.

In English, was wearing is very common. In Spanish, for clothing, you usually just use the simple imperfect:

• llevaba

So:

• Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros = natural
• Mi abuelo estaba llevando tirantes negros = unnatural in most contexts

The progressive form (estar + gerund) is usually for actions actively in progress at that moment, not for describing someone’s clothing in a scene.

Because in Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• tirantes negros = black suspenders
• camisa blanca = white shirt

This is the normal word order for descriptive adjectives like color, size, shape, etc.

Putting the adjective before the noun is sometimes possible, but it often changes the tone or meaning and is not the normal choice with colors.

Yes, you could.

Adding unos would mean:

• My grandfather was wearing some black suspenders
• or simply it would make the noun phrase feel a bit more introduced or less bare

Compare:

• llevaba tirantes negros = very natural, general description
• llevaba unos tirantes negros = also natural, slightly more specific or vivid in some contexts

Both are possible. The version without unos is very normal when describing clothing.

In Spanish, family members are often used with a possessive when you mean my grandfather, my mother, etc.

So:

• Mi abuelo = my grandfather

Just abuelo by itself would not normally work here unless it were part of direct address or a special context.

For example:

• Mi abuelo llevaba tirantes negros... = normal
• Abuelo llevaba tirantes negros... = not natural in standard usage for this meaning

So yes, mi is needed here.

Yes. Because llevaba is imperfect, the exact English translation depends on context.

It can mean:

• was wearing if you are describing a particular moment or scene in the past
• used to wear if you are talking about a repeated or typical past habit

So this sentence on its own could fit either:

• My grandfather was wearing black suspenders with the white shirt
• My grandfather used to wear black suspenders with the white shirt

Usually the wider context tells you which one is intended.

Yes, mainly the word tirantes.

In Spain, tirantes is the normal word for suspenders. A learner of Spanish from other regions may come across different vocabulary or slightly different usage, but for Spain this is completely standard.

Also, the overall style of the sentence—using llevaba for clothing and la camisa blanca rather than repeating a possessive—is very natural in standard Spanish, including Spain.