Yap.Town

il surveillait

was watching, was keeping an eye on

s y ʁ . v ɛ . j ɛ → surveiller
sur on, onto + veill to look after; to safeguard + ait 3rd-person singular imperfect
verb · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Rare #31,729
was watching, was keeping an eye on Often implies watching someone or something closely.
FR: Elle surveillait les enfants dans le jardin.
EN: She was keeping an eye on the children in the garden.
Conjugation of surveiller
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First surveillais —
Second surveillais —
Third surveillait —

Tom savait qu'on le surveillait.

Tom knew he was being watched.

Il nous surveillait de près, toi et moi.

He was watching us closely—you and me.

— Ne le dis à personne (2006)

On la surveillait ?

Were we keeping an eye on her?

— Diva (1981)

Je me sens comme s'il me surveillait.

I feel like he was watching me.

— Assurance sur la mort (1944)

Qui surveillait la porte ?

Who was watching the door?

— Sous la chaleur du soleil (1994)

Il surveillait nos faits et gestes.

He kept a close eye on everything we did.

— Star Trek : Sans limites (2016)

Et Mme Disa surveillait tout !

And Mrs. Disa was keeping an eye on everything!

— Andhadhun (2018)

Lui, s'étendait sur le parquet et surveillait le bureau de Ludovic.

He was stretched out on the hardwood floor, keeping an eye on Ludovic’s desk.

Et puis, ne la surveillait-on pas ?

Besides, wasn’t she being watched?

Le meneur, Kuang, on le surveillait depuis un moment.

We'd been keeping an eye on Kuang, the playmaker, for a while.

— Lust, Caution (2007)

Personne la surveillait ?

Was anyone watching her?

— Predator (1987)

Aussi Passepartout, sans en avoir l'air, surveillait-il son maître.

So Passepartout, without appearing to, kept an eye on his master.

Sounds similar to

surveiller s y ʁ . v ɛ . j e surveillez s y ʁ . v ɛ . j e surveillé s y ʁ . v ɛ . j e surveillant s y ʁ . v ɛ . j ɑ̃