Disminuían

Disminuían is the imperfect plural form of the Spanish verb "disminuir." The verb "disminuir" means to decrease, diminish, reduce, or lessen. As an imperfect tense, "disminuían" describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or a situation that was happening in the past without a specific end point. It is used to talk about something that used to happen regularly, or something that was in the process of happening.

For example, one might say "Las temperaturas disminuían gradualmente" which translates to "The temperatures were gradually decreasing." This sentence implies that the decrease in temperature was happening over a period of time in the past and was a continuous process. Another example could be "Los precios disminuían cada año" meaning "The prices decreased every year." This indicates a recurring event in the past. The use of "disminuían" emphasizes the past nature of the action and its continuous or habitual quality, rather than a single, completed event. It contrasts with the preterite tense, which would indicate a completed action in the past.