utilizadas

Utilizadas is the feminine plural form of the participle pasado of the verb utilizar in Spanish. It is used mainly as an adjective to indicate that something has been employed or utilized for a specific purpose.

As a participle, utilizades can also appear in compound tenses and passive constructions with haber or ser. For example, Las herramientas han sido utilizadas or Las herramientas utilizadas mean “the tools that were used.” In these cases, the participle agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.

Grammatical role and agreement are central to utilizalas. In Spanish, participles function as adjectives when they describe a noun, and they must match gender and number: utilizado (masculine singular), utilizada (feminine singular), utilizados (masculine plural), utilizadas (feminine plural). When the participle is part of a verbal periphrase, its form can also reflect tense and voice, as in han sido utilizadas.

Etymology and cognates: Utilizadas derives from the verb utilizar, which comes from the Latin utilis related to usefulness. The development of the participle into a plural feminine form reflects standard Spanish morphology for -ar verbs and the gender agreement rules that govern adjectives and participles in complex noun phrases. In other Romance languages, related forms exist, with Portuguese and Galician using utilis similar spellings and meanings in corresponding contexts.

See also: usage of participles in Spanish, adjectival agreement, passive voice in Spanish, verb utilizar.