venían

Venían is the imperfect indicative conjugation of the verb venir for the third person plural (ellos/ellas/Uds.). It expresses past actions without a defined endpoint, functioning to describe ongoing or habitual past events. In translation, it can mean “they were coming” or “they used to come,” depending on context.

Etymology and form: venir comes from Latin venire. The imperfect form venían is built from the stem ven- plus the imperfect endings -ían, with an accent on the í to mark the stressed syllable. Other imperfect forms include venía, venías, venía, veníamos, veníais, venían.

Usage notes: venían is commonly used to set scenes, describe background actions in narratives, or indicate repeated past actions. It contrasts with the preterite ellos vinieron, which signals a completed past action. Venían can appear with adverbs of time or conjunctions such as cuando, mientras, or como habitual markers to convey duration, simultaneity, or routine in the past.

Examples:

- Venían caminando cuando empezó a llover. They were coming (they were in the process of coming) while it started to rain.

- Cuando eran niños, venían todos los veranos. When they were children, they used to come every summer.

- Ellos venían de la ciudad cuando llegó el tren. They were coming from the city when the train arrived.

Related forms include venía, venías, veníamos, ve-niáis, and the related verb venir. Venían is distinct from imperfect subjunctive forms such as vinieran, which occur in subordinate clauses requiring the subjunctive mood. See also venir for the base verb and its other conjugations.