prétendaient

Prétendaient is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the French verb prétendre. The verb generally means to claim or to assert something, and in certain senses to pretend or feign. In the imperfect, prétendaient describes statements or claims that were ongoing, repeated, or habitual in the past.

Usage and nuance: prétendre is transitive and often introduces a claim with que or with an infinitive clause, as in ils prétendaient être malades or ils prétendaient que tout allait bien. The sense can range from a neutral report of claim to a skeptical or pejorative implication, depending on context and tone. The imperfect form prétendaient is commonly used in storytelling, journalism, and reported speech to describe past assertions without stating their truth.

Etymology and related forms: prétendre derives from the Latin praetendere, from prae- “before” and tendere “to stretch, extend,” originally meaning to hold forth or present. Related forms include prétendre (present), prétendait (il/elle), prétendons (nous), and the past tenses such as ont prétendu (passé composé) or prétendu (participe passé). The noun form prétendu means “alleged” or “supposed.”

Example: Ils prétendaient connaître la vérité, mais leurs récits divergeaient. In this sentence, the imperfect conveys that their claims about knowing the truth were ongoing in the past.