The imperfect tense of 'to be,' describing past states, ongoing existence, or habitual conditions in past time. It appears across the full range of Greek dialects with characteristic variations. In narrative it sets the scene ('there was a man'), establishes background ('Jesus was teaching'), or describes circumstances ('the disciples were in the boat'). Unlike the aorist, which punctuates past events, the imperfect lingers in past duration—what was happening, what someone used to be, the way things were before change arrived.