supervisaban

Supervisaban is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Spanish verb supervisar. It expresses ongoing or repeated action in the past, and is commonly translated as “they were supervising” or “they supervised” depending on context. It appears in narrative and descriptive passages to indicate that supervision occurred over a period of time.

Etymology: The verb supervisar is borrowed from French superviser, which in turn derives from Latin supervidere, meaning to oversee. The components super- (over) and videre (to see) reflect the sense of watching over people or processes.

Grammar and usage: Supervisaban is part of the imperfect tense, and is related to forms like supervisaba, supervisabas, supervisábamos, supervisabais, and supervisaban. The imperfect contrasts with the preterite supervisaron, which marks a completed action. In reported speech or clauses describing habitual or background actions, supervisaban is commonly used, for example: “Durante la operación, los gerentes supervisaban el cumplimiento de las normas.”

Examples: “Durante la auditoría, los responsables supervisaban las operaciones para detectar irregularidades.” “Los técnicos supervisaban el estado de los sistemas en intervalos regulares.” The form is widely used across Spanish-speaking regiones and fits both formal and informal contexts when describing past supervisory activity.