This is the 2121st most frequent Portuguese word.
haviam
"Haviam" is the plural imperfect form of the verb "haver," meaning "there were" or "they had" depending on context.
In this sentence, 'Haviam' is used as the past tense of 'haver,' expressing existence.
Haviam muitas pessoas na festa ontem.
There were many people at the party yesterday.
Here, 'Haviam' is part of a compound tense ('past perfect') functioning as an auxiliary verb.
Haviam prometido terminar o trabalho antes do prazo.
They had promised to finish the work ahead of time.
In this case, 'Haviam' indicates the presence of alternatives in a past context.