distinguaient

Distinguaient is the third person plural imperfect indicative form of the French verb distinguer, meaning they distinguished or they differentiated. It is used in narrative or descriptive contexts to describe a past action in which members of a group made distinctions or separated things, people, or ideas from one another.

The infinitive distinguer comes from Latin distinguere, meaning to separate, mark off, or distinguish. In French, distinguer is a regular -er verb, and its imperfect forms are built from the stem distinguish- with the standard imperfect endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Therefore, distinguaient corresponds to the stem plus the -aient ending, applied to the subject ils/elles.

Usage notes: distinguer and its imperfect form are commonly used to discuss cognitive or perceptual processes of distinguishing, differentiating, or recognizing contrasts. In historical or narrative writing, distinguaient can describe how groups or individuals perceived differences between options, signals, or phenomena. The sense can be literal (distinguishing colors or sounds) or figurative (distinguishing right from wrong, or distinguishing features of a argument).

Related forms include the present tense distinguent, the past perfect distinguer, and other imperfect forms such as distinguished by subject: je distinguais, tu distinguais, il distinguait, nous distinguions, vous distinguiez, ils distinguaient.

See also: distinguer, imparfait, French verb conjugation.