ocurrían

Ocurrían is the imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb ocurrir, used with third-person plural subjects (ellos, ellas, ustedes). It expresses that events or happenings were taking place over a period in the past or occurred repeatedly. In narrative, it helps describe ongoing situations or backstory, as in “Durante la noche ocurrían ruidos extraños” or “En aquella región ocurrían cambios constantes.”

Grammatical notes: Ocurrir means to occur or to happen and is generally intransitive. The imperfect tense ocurrían emphasizes duration or repetition in the past. The corresponding preterite form ocurrrieron is used for a completed past event. The verb is regular in its conjugation, with the stem ocurr- plus the imperfect endings, and the accent on the í in the plural form ocurrían.

Usage and nuance: Occurir is often interchangeable with synonyms such as sucedían or pasaban, depending on nuance. Occurrían tends to highlight the sense of ongoingness or recurrence, whereas occurredencias in preterite (ocurrieron) frame a single completed event. The choice between ocurrían and other verbs can reflect whether the storyteller aims to stress continuity, frequency, or punctuality of events.

Etymology and related forms: Occurrir derives from Latin occurrere, meaning “to run toward, to meet.” Related nouns include ocurrencia (an occurrence) and expressions such as se me ocurrió (it occurred to me). The imperfect form ocurrían aligns with the broader pattern of -ir verbs in Spanish.