Émettaient

Émettaient is the imperfect (imparfait) third-person plural form of the French verb émettre, meaning to send out or to broadcast. In usage, émettre covers physical emissions such as light, sound, or radio waves, as well as more figurative emissions like opinions or hypotheses. For example: Ils émettaient des signaux radio, ou Ils émettaient des hypothèses pour expliquer le phénomène. The imperfect conveys ongoing or repeated action in the past, often describing background or setting in narration.

Morphology and spelling notes: émettaient is formed from the stem émet- plus the imperfect ending -taient. Because the stem ends in -t and the ending begins with -t, the form is written with a double t: émettaient. This pattern is characteristic of the imperfect tense for verbs whose present-tense stem ends in -t and can also be seen with other verb classes in the same mood and tense.

Etymology and usage notes: émettre derives from the Latin emittere, meaning to send forth. In modern French, the verb is transitive and French speakers commonly pair it with direct objects such as des ondes, des signaux, des parfums, or des hypothèses. The noun émission corresponds to the act or result of emitting. Related forms include émettent (present), émettaient (imparfait), émettaient des opinions or émettre une opinion (to express an opinion). The term is widely used in science, communications, and everyday language to describe the act of sending or projecting something outward.