comían

Comían is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb comer, meaning “to eat.” It expresses actions or states in the past that were habitual, ongoing, or background in nature.

In the imperfect tense, the forms of comer are: como, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían. Therefore, comían is used when referring to ellos, ellas, o ustedes in the past.

Usage is typically for habitual past actions or scenes described in narrative. For example: “Cuando eran niños, comían en la casa de la abuela.” It can also describe ongoing actions in the past, as in “Ellos comían mientras ella leía,” where the eating action lasts in the background of another past event.

Pronunciation and orthography: comían carries an accent on the í to indicate the stressed syllable in this imperfect form. The word is pronounced co-MÍ-an, with the stress on the i.

Relation to other tenses: comían contrasts with comieron, the preterite form that marks a completed past action; and with comen, the present tense form that describes current eating. The imperfect also has other forms for different subjects, such as como (yo), comes (tú), come (él/ella/usted), comemos (nosotros), coméis (vosotros).