découvrirent

Découvrirent is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the French verb "découvrir." The verb "découvrir" translates to "to discover" in English. Therefore, "découvrirent" means "they discovered." This verb form is used to describe an action of discovery that was ongoing or habitual in the past, or to set the scene for a past event. It conveys the sense of an ongoing discovery or multiple instances of discovery by a group of people in the past. For example, in a historical context, one might write "Les explorateurs découvrirent de nouvelles terres" which translates to "The explorers discovered new lands." The imperfect tense here suggests that the discovery was a process or a series of events that unfolded over time. It is distinct from the passé simple, "découvrirent," which would typically be used in more formal narratives to denote a completed action in the past. The imperfect tense of "découvrir" emphasizes the continuity or descriptive nature of the discovery in a past narrative.