asportavano

Asportavano is the imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb asportare, used with the third-person plural subject. It expresses an ongoing or repeated action of removing or taking away in the past, corresponding to “they were removing” or “they used to remove.” The verb asportare is transitive and denotes removing something from a place, situation, or body, often implying extraction or taking away rather than simply moving.

Etymology and usage: asportare derives from a prefix a- meaning “away” combined with portare, to carry. The sense centers on removing or carrying away from a location or context. The term is found in medical language (for example, removing tissue or a tumor), legal or technical writing (removing items from a collection or site), and narrative historical texts. In everyday speech, more common alternatives for everyday removal might be togliere or rimuovere, but asportare remains standard in formal, scientific, or juridical registers.

Conjugation note: asportare follows regular -are verb patterns in Italian. In addition to asportavano (imperfect), related forms include asportavo, asportavi, asportava, asportavamo, asportavate, and asportavano in the imperfect; other tenses and moods use standard endings.

See also: asportazione (the act of removal or extraction), portare (to carry), togliere (to remove).