intendevano

Intendevano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb intendere, meaning to mean, to understand, or to intend. In this tense, it describes past actions that were ongoing or habitual, or a past intention. In English, it is commonly rendered as “they meant” or “they were intending (to).”

Grammatical notes: intendere is an imperfect -ere verb, yielding the typical forms intendevo, intendevi, intendeva, intendevamo, intendevate, and intendevano. The imperfect is used to discuss past contexts without focusing on completion, often conveying duration, repetition, or a general past sense rather than a specific event.

Etymology and sense: The verb derives from Latin intendere, formed with in- (toward, into) and tendere (to stretch, aim). In Italian, intendevano retains the dual sense of meaning and intention, and can also appear in contexts where “to understand” is the intended nuance, depending on surrounding words.

Usage examples: Intendevano visitare il museo entro la settimana. (They intended to visit the museum within the week.) Intendevano dire la verità, ma le circostanze crearono ambiguità. (They meant to tell the truth, but circumstances created ambiguity.) These examples illustrate how the imperfect form expresses past intent or ongoing past meaning rather than a completed action.