estenderam

Estenderam is the third person plural pretérito perfeito do indicativo of the verb estender in Portuguese. It indicates that a past action of extending or spreading was completed by eles, elas, or vocês. The infinitive estender derives from Latin extendere. The verb is a regular -er verb in the pretérito perfeito, taking the ending -aram in the third person plural: eles estenderam. The full preterite conjugation is eu estendi, tu estendeste, ele estendeu, nós estendemos, vós estendestes, eles estenderam.

Use and meaning: Estenderam is used to describe concrete actions of spreading, laying out, or extending physical reach, as well as figurative extensions such as time or opportunities. Examples: Eles estenderam a toalha no gramado. As mãos estenderam-se para cumprimentar. Eles estenderam o prazo de entrega.

Notes: The form estenderam can appear with a reflexive pronoun as estenderam-se to indicate the subject extending itself, as in as mãos estenderam-se. Etymologically, estender comes from Latin extendere. While close in meaning, some contexts in Brazilian Portuguese may also appear with extenders in informal speech; however, estender is the standard form for the verb meaning “to spread” or “to extend.”