caminharam

Caminharam is the third-person plural form of the Portuguese verb caminhar in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo. It designates a completed action in the past, typically translated as “they walked” or “you all walked.” It is used with subjects eles, elas or vocês.

Caminhar is a regular -ar verb, so its conjugation follows the standard pattern for this class. Full conjugation in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo is: eu caminhei, tu caminhaste, ele caminhou, nós caminhamos, vós caminhastes, eles caminharam. The form caminharam has no accent, reflecting regular stress on the final syllable in this tense. In contemporary Brazilian Portuguese, the forms with vocês are common for the plural subject, while in European Portuguese the same forms are used but with less frequent use of the vós form in daily speech.

Etymology and cognates: caminhar is related to camin-, linked to the noun caminho (path). It has cognates in other Romance languages, such as Spanish caminar and Italian camminare, reflecting a shared Latin-origin root. The precise historical development can involve influences from Late Latin and regional variants, but the modern verb is regular in its conjugation and meaning.

Usage notes: caminharam is often employed in narrative past tense to recount completed movements or journeys, and it can be accompanied by adverbs like ontem, já, ou durante a caminhada. It is commonly contrasted with forms like caminham (present) or caminharão (future).