Costumavam

Costumavam is the imperfect indicative form of the Portuguese verb costumar, used to express past habitual actions or states. It denotes that a subject, typically eles or elas (they), used to do something regularly. In English, it corresponds to "they used to" or "they were accustomed to." The form costumavam specifically marks the third-person plural in the imperfect tense.

Etymology and meaning: The verb costumar derives from the noun costume (habit, custom), which in turn comes from Latin consuetudinem. The sense is to be in the habit of performing an action. As a result, costumavam is used to describe repeated past behavior rather than a single past event.

Usage: Costumavam is employed in narration or description to convey routine actions in the past. It contrasts with the present tense costuam (they use to) or with singular forms such as costumava (he/she/you used to) and with the first-person plural costumávamos. It is common in both Brazilian and European Portuguese, though speakers may choose synonyms like normalmente or frequentemente depending on register.

Examples:

- Eles costumavam viajar todo verão. (They used to travel every summer.)

- Os avós costumavam contar histórias antes de dormir. (The grandparents used to tell stories before bed.)

- Quando eram jovens, costumavam ir ao cinema aos fins de semana. (When they were young, they used to go to the cinema on weekends.)

See also: costumar, costume (noun), and consuetudinem (Latin root).