etaient

Etaient is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the French verb "être," meaning "to be." In English, it translates to "they were," "you (plural) were," or "it was" (when referring to multiple things in the past). The imperfect tense in French is used to describe ongoing actions, states of being, or habitual occurrences in the past without a definite beginning or end.

For example, in the sentence "Ils étaient heureux," "etaient" indicates a state of happiness that was ongoing in the past. Similarly, "Elles étaient à Paris l'année dernière" means "They were in Paris last year," describing a past situation that lasted for a period. The imperfect is also used for descriptions in the past, such as "La maison était grande" (The house was big). Unlike the passé composé, which describes completed actions, the imperfect focuses on the background or context of past events. Therefore, "etaient" conveys a sense of continuity or description within a past narrative.