Detenía

Detenía is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb detener. Detener means to stop, to hold back, or to detain/arrest. In the imperfect, detenía describes a past action that was ongoing or habitual, or a past state, rather than a single completed act. The form is used for the first person singular (yo detenía) and the third person singular (él/ella/usted detenía); the second person singular is detenías. The imperfect can also appear in reflexive constructions with detenerse, where the meaning is to stop oneself or to pause.

As a transitive verb, detener takes a direct object to denote detaining a person or thing. For example, "la policía detenía a varios sospechosos" means the police were detaining several suspects. The noun detención denotes the act of detaining or arrest, while detained (detenido) functions as a past participle or adjective describing someone who has been detained. The pronominal form detenerse (to stop oneself) yields phrases like "me detenía," meaning I was stopping myself or I used to stop.

Etymology and related terms: Detener comes from Latin detinere (de- + tenere), by way of Old French déténir/détenir, and into Spanish with the modern form detener. Related words in Spanish include detención and detenido, which derive from the same root and are used to refer to the act or the person who has been detained.

See also: detención, detenido, detener.