organizaban

Organizaban is a form of the Spanish verb organizar, used as the imperfect indicative in the third person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes). The imperfect tense expresses past actions that were ongoing, repeated, or habitual, or serves to set the scene in narrative contexts.

Grammatical details: organizar is a regular -ar verb. In the imperfect, the endings for all -ar verbs are -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban. Therefore, organizaban corresponds to “they/you all were organizing” or “they/you all used to organize.” This form is commonly found in written and spoken Spanish to describe background activity or routines in the past.

Usage notes: organizaban is widely used across dialects of Spanish to describe ongoing organization efforts, planning processes, or recurring events in past contexts. It often appears with time markers or conjunctions that establish a past setting, such as cuando, mientras, o cada verano. Examples help illustrate its function in narration or reporting of past events.

Ejemplos:

- Cuando llegué, ellos organizaban la reunión. (When I arrived, they were organizing the meeting.)

- Durante la década, organizaban ferias comunitarias cada verano. (During the decade, they organized community fairs every summer.)

Etymology and relatives: organizaban comes from organizar, which in turn derives from the noun organ (organ) with the Spanish suffix -izar to form a verb meaning “to make into an organizer” or “to arrange.” The root is cognate with the English organize; the verb also has related forms such as organizo, organizas, organiza, organizamos, organizáis, organizan, and related nouns like organización and organizador.