localizaram

Localizaram is the third-person plural preterite form of the Portuguese verb localizar. It translates to “they located” or “they found” and is used to describe a completed action in which a group identified the position, existence, or identity of something.

Grammatical notes: Localizar is a regular -ar verb. In the preterite tense, the endings for the respective subject pronouns are -ei, -aste, -ou, -amos, -astes, -aram, so localizaram corresponds to eles/elas. This form is standard in both Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese for narrative past actions.

Usage: Localizaram commonly appears in reports, investigations, and narratives about locating a person, object, or information. Examples include locating a suspect, finding a missing item, or pinpointing the source of a problem. For instance, "Os investigadores localizaram o paradeiro do suspeito" means "The investigators located the suspect’s whereabouts." The verb can also appear in non-criminal contexts, such as locating a landmark, a route, or a piece of data in a study or map.

Etymology and related forms: Localizar derives from local + -izar, forming a verb meaning to make something local or to determine its location. The related nouns include localização (location) and localizável (locatable); the past participle is localizado.

See also: localizar, localização, localizador.