Surgieran

Surgieran is the third-person plural imperfect subjunctive form of the Spanish verb surgir, which means to arise, to emerge, or to come into being. It appears in dependent clauses that express doubt, possibility, desire, or hypothetical situations, often in sentences linked to a conditional main clause or to verbs of volition, emotion, or doubt.

Form and alternatives: The imperfect subjunctive has two common variants. The -ra form, which yields surgieran for the third-person plural, is widespread in written and formal Spanish. The -se form, with surgiesen as the corresponding third-person plural, is considered equally correct but is less frequent in contemporary speech. Both forms are used to express unreality, past-tense conditions, or reported speech in contexts where the imperfect subjunctive is required.

Usage notes: Surgieran is frequently found in clauses introduced by si (if) in hypothetical or counterfactual contexts, such as Si surgieran nuevos datos, cambiaríamos la decisión (If new data were to emerge, we would change the decision). It also appears after verbs of doubt, possibility, or necessity, in phrases like Es posible que surgieran problemas (It is possible that problems could arise). The form agrees with a plural subject and is confined to subordinate clauses; it does not stand alone as a finite verb in past contexts.

Etymology and related forms: Surgir derives from Latin surgere, meaning to rise. Related forms include surge, surgen (present), surgió (preterite), and the imperfect subjunctive variants surgiera/surgiese and surgieran/surgiesen.