lembravam

Lembravam is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Portuguese verb lembrar, meaning to remember or to remind. It is used to describe past memory that was ongoing, habitual, or in the background of a narrative, rather than a single completed memory.

As a regular -ar verb in the imperfect tense, the full paradigm is: eu lembrava, tu lembravas, ele/ela lembrava, nós lembrávamos, vós lembráveis, eles/elas lembravam. The form lembravam marks the third-person plural. In modern usage, the reflexive form lembravam-se de is common when the action involves recalling something to oneself.

Usage and nuance: lembravam is typically employed in descriptions of past states or recurring memories. It can set the scene in storytelling or recount routines in a bygone period. It contrasts with lembraram, the simple past perfective form, which refers to a specific remembered action or moment in the past. The verb can take de or de+infinitive to indicate what is being recalled (lembrar-se de algo/lembrar de fazer algo).

Examples:

- Eles lembravam dos tempos da escola. (They remembered the school days / They used to remember the school days.)

- Quando éramos crianças, eles lembravam de brincar no parque. (When we were children, they used to remember playing in the park.)

See also: lembrar, lembrar-se de. Lembravam is a standard part of the regular conjugation pattern for -ar verbs in the imperfect, used across dialects of Brazilian and European Portuguese, with the vós form being largely archaic in contemporary usage.