Escogían

Escogían is the imperfect indicative, third-person plural form of the Spanish verb escoger. The verb escoger means to choose, to select, or to pick out. Therefore, "escogían" translates to "they were choosing," "they used to choose," or "they chose" in the past habitual or continuous sense. It describes an action of selection that was ongoing or repeated in the past, but not necessarily completed.

For example, "Los niños escogían sus juguetes" means "The children were choosing their toys" or "The children used to choose their toys." This implies that the act of choosing was happening over a period of time or was a regular occurrence. The imperfect tense is used to describe background actions, habitual actions, or descriptions in the past, contrasting with the preterite tense, which is used for completed actions. Thus, "escogían" emphasizes the process or the habit of choosing rather than the final decision.