No. 243 in Portuguese
estavam
"Estavam" means "they were" or "you (plural) were" in English.
In a sentence
Os alunos estavam estudando na biblioteca.
The students were studying in the library.
In this sentence, 'estavam' serves as the third-person plural imperfect tense of the verb 'estar', indicating an ongoing action in the past.
Eles estavam cansados após a longa caminhada.
They were tired after the long walk.
Here, 'estavam' is used as the auxiliary verb in the third-person plural imperfect, forming the past state of being tired.
Nós estávamos indecisos sobre qual caminho seguir.
We were undecided about which path to follow.
In this example, 'estavam' indicates the imperfect past tense of 'estar', describing an ongoing mental state of hesitation.
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