Perdieran

Perdieran is a verb form of perder, the imperfect subjunctive in the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes). It is used in subordinate clauses to express hypothetical, uncertain, or nonreal past situations, or in counterfactual contexts. The form is also encountered in reported speech when the past is within a subordinate clause that requires the subjunctive.

In Spanish there are two common sets of endings for the imperfect subjunctive. The most frequent is the -ra series: perdiera, perdieras, perdiera, perdiéramos, perdierais, perdieran. The second, less common in everyday speech, is the -se series: perdiese, perdieses, perdiese, perdiésemos, perdieseis, perdiesen. Perdieran belongs to the -ra group and is the standard third-person plural form. Both series carry the same meaning, but the -ra variant is far more prevalent in contemporary usage.

Common uses include conditional and hypothetical statements in the past, expressions of doubt or wish concerning past events, and after verbs or conjunctions that require the subjunctive. For example: Si ellos perdieran el partido, quedarían fuera de la competición. Quisiera que ellos no perdieran la oportunidad. Ojalá que no perdieran el tren; these constructions illustrate subjunctive in subordinate clauses referring to past possibilities or uncertain outcomes.

Pronunciation is aligned with standard Spanish norms for imperfect subjunctive forms, with emphasis on the syllable of -die- in perdiera and related forms. Perdieran emphasizes the same root meaning as perder, “to lose,” while functioning grammatically to mark modality rather than tense in the relevant clauses.