percebiam

Percebiam is a Portuguese verb form that serves as the third-person plural imperfect indicative of perceber, meaning to perceive, notice, or become aware. This form expresses past perception that was ongoing, habitual, or characteristic in the past, rather than a completed single event. It is used across Portuguese varieties, including Brazilian and European Portuguese.

Etymology and form: perceber derives from the Latin percipere, meaning to grasp or seize. In modern Portuguese, perceber follows a regular -er verb conjugation pattern in the imperfect, yielding eu percebia, tu percebias, ele percebia, nós percebíamos, vós percebíeis, eles percebiam. The 3rd person plural form percebia(m) thus appears as percebia + m, producing percebiam.

Usage notes: Percebiam often describes an ongoing process of noticing or understanding in the past, or repeated past perceptions. It can appear in narrative to set the scene or in subordinate clauses describing what people were noticing at a given time. For example: Eles percebiam o cheiro de fumaça no ar, antes de reconhecer o perigo. Another example: Enquanto discutiam, eles percebiam que o problema não era simples. The imperfect form contrasts with the aorist or perfect past forms to convey duration or repetition rather than a single, finished action.

See also: perceber (base verb); percepção (noun); perceptível (adjective).