appréciaient

Appréciaient is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb apprécier. It corresponds to “they appreciated” or “they were appreciating” in English. This form is used to describe past situations, states of appreciation, or actions that were habitual or ongoing in the past, often serving as background information in a narrative.

Formation and forms: The imperfect (imparfait) in French is formed by taking the present tense stem of the verb in the “nous” form and removing -ons, yielding appréci-. The endings are -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Therefore, the third-person plural form is appréciaient. Other imperfect forms include j’appréciais, tu appréciais, il appréciait, nous apprécions (present), vous appréciez (present). The spellings reflect the stem from apprécier, with the circumflex and acute accent carried into the imperfect stem.

Usage: Apprécier is a transitive verb meaning to value, to like, or to enjoy something, and in the imperfect it usually describes past enjoyment, value, or recognition that persisted or recurred. It is common in narrative descriptions, recounting past experiences, or reflecting on how things used to be appreciated. It should not be confused with passé composé forms that indicate a completed past action; appréciaient emphasizes continuity or habit in the past.

Example sentences: Ils appréciaient la musique qu’ils écoutaient régulièrement. Quand ils voyageaient, ils appréciaient le calme des petites villes. In both cases, the imperfect conveys a past, ongoing appreciation rather than a single, completed act.