envolviam

Envolviam is a Portuguese verb form, specifically the third person plural of the imperfect indicative of the verb envolver. The verb envolve has senses including to wrap or envelop physically and to involve, include, or require. The imperfect tense expresses past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or used to describe a background situation.

In its imperfect indicative, the form envolviam is used with subjects such as eles or as pessoas equivalentes. A sample full conjugation in the imperfect for envolver is: eu envolvia, tu envolvias, ele envolvia, nós envolvíamos, eles envolviam. This form contrasts with the preterite envolveram (completed past action) and with other tenses that convey different aspects of time and aspect.

Usage notes vary by meaning. In the sense of wrapping or enveloping, envolviam typically takes a direct object, as in eles envolviam as caixas com papel kraft (they wrapped the boxes with kraft paper). In the sense of including or implicating, the verb governs the content that is involved, as in as perguntas envolviam várias questões (the questions involved several issues). The imperfect often sets background conditions or describes repeated past actions rather than a single completed event.

Etymology traces envolver to the Latin involvere, formed from in- (in) and volvere (to roll, turn). In Portuguese, the verb developed to cover both physical wrapping and figurative senses of including or implicating, with the imperfect form envolviam reflecting regular Romance-language verb endings for third-person plural.