Learn Spanish (Latin America): Nosotros íbamos a ese vecindario.

Nosotros íbamos a ese vecindario.

We used to go to that neighborhood.

Breakdown of Nosotros íbamos a ese vecindario.

Questions & Answers about Nosotros íbamos a ese vecindario.

Why does íbamos have an accent mark?

In the imperfect tense, the nosotros (we) form of ir always has an accent on the first letter (í). This keeps the spoken stress on that syllable: Í-ba-mos. The other forms like iba and ibas naturally stress the first syllable without needing an accent mark.

Why use the imperfect íbamos here instead of the preterite fuimos?

The imperfect tense is used for past habits or repeated actions, which is why it translates well to 'used to go' in English. If you said Nosotros fuimos a ese vecindario, it would mean you went there on a specific, completed occasion.

Could íbamos also mean 'we were going'?

Yes! Depending on the context, íbamos can mean 'we used to go' (a past habit) or 'we were going' (an action in progress in the past, like 'We were going to that neighborhood when the car broke down').

I always mix up ese and eso. Why is it ese vecindario?

Ese is the masculine singular word for 'that' when it comes right before a masculine noun like vecindario. Eso is a neutral pronoun meaning 'that thing' or 'that situation', and it is never used directly next to a noun.