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ellos faltaban

were missing, were lacking

→ faltar
falt to be missing, to be absent + aban 3rd-person plural imperfect (indicative or subjunctive)
verb · third plural · imperfect indicative Rare #34,034
were missing, were lacking Imperfect tense (they/you all were missing or lacking). Often used with indirect objects: “me/te/le/nos/les faltaba(n)” = “I/you/he etc. was/were missing (something)” or “(something) was lacking to me/you/etc.”
SP: En la caja faltaban dos tornillos.
EN: Two screws were missing from the box.
Conjugation of faltar
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First faltaba —
Third faltaba faltaban
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First faltaba —
Third faltaba faltaban

Pero a Steven Redfellow no le faltaban enemigos.

But Steven Redfellow was not without his enemies.

— Jugada maestra (2026)

Faltaban las declaraciones.

The statements were missing.

— Tropa de élite 2 (2010)

Me faltaban palabras.

I was speechless.

Le faltaban unas páginas al libro.

The book was missing a few pages.

Faltaban algunos alumnos a causa de la gripe.

Some students were absent due to the flu.

Tenía el plan, pero faltaban los detalles.

I had the plan, but the details were missing.

— Perdición (1944)

Faltaban seis horas.

There were six hours left.

— Titanic (1997)

Faltaban al menos treinta estudiantes.

At least thirty students were missing.