mantenevano

Mantenevano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb mantenere, meaning to maintain or to keep. The imperfect expresses a past action that was ongoing, habitual, or not yet completed at a point in the past. As such, mantenevano is commonly used to describe sustained states, repeated actions, or conditions in the past, rather than a single completed event.

Usage and nuances: Mantenevano can refer to physical maintenance (keeping a building in good repair), to preserving conditions or standards (keeping order, keeping a system running), or to upholding obligations, beliefs, or traditions. In narrative prose, the imperfect form helps convey duration and continuity, often in contrast to a completed action described with passato prossimo.

Conjugation notes: The verb mantenere is an -ere verb whose imperfect forms use the stem mantene- plus standard -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano endings. Therefore, mantenevo, mantenevi, manteneva, mantenevamo, mantenevate, mantenevano are the corresponding first- or third-person forms in the imperfect.

Etymology: Mantenere derives from Latin mantēnēre or a related compound involving tene- (to hold) with an element such as man- or manu- (hand) attached. The precise historical development is debated, but the sense of keeping, upholding, or preserving is central to its meaning in Italian.

Examples: Mantenevano la casa in buone condizioni. (They kept the house in good condition.) Mantenevano la promessa nonostante le pressioni. (They kept the promise despite the pressures.) In literary contexts, mantenevano is often used to set scenes of ongoing past activity or circumstance.

See also: mantenere, imperfect indicative, verb conjugation patterns for -ere verbs.

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