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estaban en

were in/at/on

→ estar
phrase Uncommon #16,435
were in/at/on Past tense plural form of estar + en. The exact English preposition depends on context.
SP: Mis llaves estaban en la mesa.
EN: My keys were on the table.

Mary y Tom estaban en shock cuando vieron a Oliver volver con su primer tatuaje.

Mary and Tom were in shock when they saw Oliver return with his first tattoo.

Creí que los Murphy estaban en Florida.

I thought the Murphys were in Florida.

— Solo en casa (1990)

Tom y Mary estaban en perfecta sintonía.

Tom and Mary were perfectly in sync.

Nuestros planes para el fin de semana estaban en suspenso.

Our plans for the weekend were on hold.

Todos los jugadores estaban en su posición.

All the players were in their positions.

Estaban en México.

They were in Mexico.

Creí que estaban en Córcega.

I thought they were in Corsica.

— Caché (Escondido) (2005)

Los trenes no estaban en servicio debido a la nieve.

The trains were not running due to the snow.

Las montañas estaban en todos los alrededores de la ciudad.

The mountains were all around the city.

Las tropas estaban en formación de combate.

The troops were in combat formation.

Tu nombre figura en la lista de los que estaban en McGill's.

Your name appears on the list of those who were at McGill's.

— Mystic River (2003)

Estaban en un cajón cerrado.

They were in a closed drawer.

— La increíble historia de David Copperfield (2019)

Como al tocar nadie me abrió, entendí que estaban en la casa de campo.

Since no one answered when I knocked, I understood that they were at the country house.

— Moscú no cree en las lágrimas (1980)

El barón y él estaban en la otra acera.

The baron and he were on the other sidewalk.

De pequeños, ni Tom ni Mary estaban en Australia.

When they were children, neither Tom nor Mary were in Australia.

Estaban en Berlín.

They were in Berlin.

Había rumores de que estaban en Veldenstein.

There were rumors that they were in Veldenstein.

— Núremberg (2025)

Los preparativos de la boda estaban en pleno apogeo.

The wedding preparations were in full swing.

— Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

Todas las luces estaban en verde.

All the lights were green.

Estaban en tu bolso.

They were in your bag.

— Perfectos desconocidos (2016)

Usted dijo que los cuerpos no estaban en nuestros terrenos.

You said the bodies were not on our land.

— No se lo digas a nadie (2006)