nous voyions

we saw; we were seeing

→ nous

phrase Rare #37,670

we saw; we were seeing Imperfect form of voir, used for ongoing or repeated past actions. It is also the present subjunctive form after expressions such as vouloir que or empêcher que.

FR: Quand nous étions enfants, nous voyions souvent nos grands-parents.

EN: When we were children, we often saw our grandparents.

Qu'est-ce que Tom veut que nous voyions ?

What does Tom want us to see?

J'étais un ami de Steiner, mais nous ne nous voyions pas souvent.

I was a friend of Steiner’s, but we didn’t see each other often.

— La dolce vita (1960)

Ceux que nous voyions comme nos ennemis veulent désormais vivre avec nous.

Those we once saw as our enemies now want to live with us.

— Good Bye Lenin! (2003)

Ils ne veulent pas que nous voyions ce qu'ils font.

They don't want us to see what they're doing.

Qui savait alors, que nous voyions Rancho pour la dernière fois.

Who knew then that we were seeing Rancho for the last time.

— 3 Idiots (2009)

C'était comme si nous voyions un film au ralenti.

It was as if we were watching a movie in slow motion.