obtenían

Obtenían is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb obtener, meaning to obtain or to acquire. It corresponds to the third-person plural subject (ellos, ellas, ustedes) in the past and expresses actions or states that were ongoing or habitual. The verb obtener is regular in the imperfect, with the full conjugation in this tense being: yo obtenía, tú obtenías, él/ella/Ud. obtenía, nosotros obteníamos, vosotros obteníais, ellos/ellas/Uds. obtenían.

Usage of obtenían includes describing past acquisitions, access to resources, information, permissions, or results, often without specifying a definite endpoint. It also appears in narrative contexts to indicate repeated or progressive past actions. Examples: “Durante la investigación, obtenían documentos de archivo” or “Con el tiempo, obtenían mejores resultados.” The object of obtener can be a direct object or, in some cases, complemented by phrases such as de or para, depending on regional usage and the surrounding construction.

Etymology and relatives: obtener derives from the Latin obtinēre, formed from ob- ‘toward’ and tenēre ‘to hold.’ cognates appear in other Romance languages, for instance obtenir in French. In Spanish, obtener has a wide range of uses beyond the imperfect form, including forms in other tenses and the past participle obtenido.

In summary, obtenían is a key past-tense form used to describe ongoing or habitual past obtaining actions in Spanish, applicable across diverse contexts and registers.