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ellos hablaban

were speaking, used to speak

a ˈb l a b a n → hablar
habl speak + aban they imperfect
verb · third plural · imperfect indicative Uncommon #14,089
were speaking, used to speak Imperfect past tense (they/you all).
SP: Cuando llegué, ellos hablaban de sus planes.
EN: When I arrived, they were talking about their plans.
Conjugation of hablar
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First hablaba hablábamos
Second hablabas —
Third hablaba hablaban
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First hablaba hablábamos
Second hablabas —
Third hablaba hablaban
hablara

No entendí porque hablaban en voz baja.

I didn't understand because they were speaking quietly.

Uno en el que hablaban de congelar a los muertos.

One where they talked about freezing the dead.

— Open Your Eyes (1997)

Hablaban demasiado rápido para que yo les entendiera.

They were speaking too fast for me to understand them.

Los romanos hablaban latín.

The Romans spoke Latin.

O ellos le hablaban de sus secretos.

Or they would tell him their secrets.

— Valor sentimental (2025)

Tom y sus amigos se hablaban en francés.

Tom and his friends spoke to each other in French.

Aunque eran hermanos no se hablaban.

Although they were brothers, they didn't speak to each other.

Hablaban cada noche por teléfono.

They spoke on the phone every night.

Ellos hablaban de negocios.

They were talking about business.

Hablaban un idioma que no reconocí.

They were speaking a language I didn’t recognize.

Es de lo único que Chad y tú hablaban.

That's all you and Chad were talking about.

— Killer Whale (2026)

No sé de qué hablaban siempre.

I don't know what they were always talking about.

— Dil se.. (1998)

Esto es de lo que hablaban en las noticias.

This is what they were talking about on the news.

Ahora, a pesar de sus deseos, incluso hablaban más de ella.

Now, despite her wishes, they were talking about her even more.

— El cuento de la princesa Kaguya (2013)

Los viejos hablaban de la vida.

The old people were talking about life.

Hablaban de sus asquerosos hijos.

They were talking about their disgusting children.

— Uno de los nuestros (1990)

Ellos no hablaban español.

They did not speak Spanish.

Hablaban francés.

They spoke French.

Ella decía que sentía que los pájaros le hablaban.

She said she felt like the birds were talking to her.

— El recuerdo de Marnie (2014)

Debe ser el taller del que hablaban.

It must be the workshop they were talking about.

— El jardín de los pecadores: Paradigma paradoja (Paradoja espiral) (2008)

Todos hablaban de la guerra como algo inminente.

Everyone talked about the war as though it were imminent.

— Mi amigo Ivan Lapshin (1985)

Se perdieron en el campamento y todos hablaban de ustedes dos.

You two got lost at the camp, and everyone was talking about you.

— A primera vista (2014)

Hablaban de economía.

They were talking about economics.

Y todos hablaban sin prestarle atención.

And everyone was talking without paying attention to him.

— La ciudad de las estrellas (La La Land) (2016)

Ellos hablaban durante la película.

They were talking during the movie.

Sounds similar to

hablabas a ˈb l a b a s hablaran a ˈb l a ɾ a n