cobriram

Cobriram is the third-person plural preterite (simple past) form of the Portuguese verb cobrir, meaning they covered. The verb cobrir is used in contexts ranging from physical covering to figurative or journalistic coverage. Cobriram specifically indicates that the action of covering was completed in the past for a plural subject.

Etymology and background: cobrir comes from Latin cooperire, meaning to cover or to surround, and entered Portuguese through early Romance language development. The preterite form cobriram follows regular patterns for -rir verbs in the preterite, with the segment -ram signaling the third-person plural in that tense.

Usage: Cobriram can denote several types of past covering actions. For physical covering, one might say, “Eles cobriram o buraco com tábuas” (They covered the hole with boards). In journalism or reporting, it can express covering a news event: “Os repórteres cobriram o evento ontem” (The reporters covered the event yesterday). With costs or expenses, it can mean they paid for or absorbed the costs: “Eles cobriram os custos” (They covered the costs). In all cases, the subject is plural and the action is completed in the past.

Related forms and notes: The corresponding past forms for other persons include eu cobri (I covered) and ele cobriu (he covered). The present forms are eu cubro, ele cobre, and other tenses follow standard Portuguese conjugation patterns for -ir verbs. Cobrir is used broadly across regions, including Brazilian and European Portuguese, with the same basic meaning and usage in past tense forms like cobriram.