получал

In a sentence

• Я часто получал письма от друзей.

  I often received letters from friends.

  Here, 'получал' is in the imperfective past tense, indicating a repeated or habitual action of receiving letters.

• Вчера он получал награду за участие.

  Yesterday he was receiving an award for participation.

  In this context, 'получал' conveys an action that was ongoing or happening at a specific point in the past, typical of the imperfective verb aspect.

• Когда я был студентом, я получал стипендию.

  When I was a student, I received a scholarship.

  Here, 'получал' describes a state or recurrent action in the past, as part of an ongoing situation.