Which Spanish imperfect form corresponds to 'they used to live; they were living'?

Which Spanish imperfect form corresponds to 'they used to live; they were living'?

• A. ustedes vivían
• B. ellos estaban
• C. ellos vivían
• D. ellos iban

Answer: (C)

The imperfect tense is used for past actions without focusing on their start or end, often describing habits or ongoing states in the past. For vivir, the third-person plural imperfect ending is -ían, giving form vivían for ellos/ellas/ustedes. So to say “they used to live” or “they were living,” the natural choice is ellos vivían. It expresses a past habit or ongoing situation about “they.” The other forms don’t fit as cleanly: estar in the imperfect (estaban) would need a gerund to mean “were living” (estaban viviendo), and iban means “they went” or “they were going,” not about living. Using ustedes vivían would still be imperfect, but it changes the subject from “they” to “you all.”

The imperfect tense is used for past actions without focusing on their start or end, often describing habits or ongoing states in the past. For vivir, the third-person plural imperfect ending is -ían, giving form vivían for ellos/ellas/ustedes. So to say “they used to live” or “they were living,” the natural choice is ellos vivían. It expresses a past habit or ongoing situation about “they.”

The other forms don’t fit as cleanly: estar in the imperfect (estaban) would need a gerund to mean “were living” (estaban viviendo), and iban means “they went” or “they were going,” not about living. Using ustedes vivían would still be imperfect, but it changes the subject from “they” to “you all.”