appartenevano

Appartenevano is the imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb appartenere, meaning “they belonged” or “they used to belong.” It is used to describe a state of belonging or possession in the past, whether referring to objects, people, groups, or institutions. For example, Le proprietà appartenevano al comune (The properties belonged to the municipality) or Gli oggetti appartenevano a una collezionista privata (The objects belonged to a private collector). In everyday language, it can be substituted by expressions such as facevano parte di or era/erano di, depending on nuance.

Etymology and related forms: appartenere derives from Latin pertinēre (to pertain, belong), with a prefix evolution in the Romance languages that produced the Italian verb. The infinitive is appartenere; participles include appartenuto (past participle) and the adjective apparterente (belonging). The prefixing and stem evolution led to the present forms used in modern Italian.

Conjugation and usage notes: In addition to loro appartenevano, the imperfect forms for other persons are io appartenevo, tu appartenevi, lui/lei apparteneva, noi appartenevamo, voi appartenevate. The imperfect tense conveys ongoing or repeated past states of belonging. The verb governs constructions such as appartenere a qualcuno (to belong to someone) or appartenere a un gruppo, a una proprietà, a un’istituzione. In contemporary Italian, more colloquial alternatives include “facevano parte di” to emphasize inclusion rather than ownership.