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ellos iban

were going

ˈi b a n → ir
ib Imperfect + an they conjugation (imperfect)
verb · third plural · imperfect indicative Uncommon #15,206
were going Imperfect tense of "ir" (to go), used for past actions in progress or habitual past actions.
SP: Mis amigos iban al parque todos los sábados.
EN: My friends used to go to the park every Saturday.
Conjugation of ir
SingularPlural
First — irnos
irirseirmeirte
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First iba íbamos
Second ibas —
Third iba iban
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First iba íbamos
Second ibas —
Third iba iban
fuese

Iban en la cola del avión.

They were in the tail of the plane.

— La sociedad de la nieve (2023)

Los turistas extranjeros iban sentados en el bus y miraban por la ventana.

The foreign tourists were sitting on the bus and looking out the window.

Sólo que ellos iban tapados con unos trapos.

Except they were covered with some rags.

— P.K. (Peekay) (2014)

Las cosas iban mal con Neiman tocando.

Things were going badly with Neiman playing.

— Whiplash (2014)

Pero todas sus llamadas iban a un número incorrecto.

But all their calls went to the wrong number.

— P.K. (Peekay) (2014)

Tom conoció a Mary cuando iban en enseñanza media.

Tom met Mary when they were in middle school.

Peter conoció a Pearl cuando iban juntos al colegio.

Peter met Pearl when they went to school together.

Iban a ochenta kilómetros y nos adelantaron.

They were going eighty kilometers per hour and they overtook us.

Para variar, las cosas iban bastante bien.

For a change, things were going quite well.

— American Splendor (2003)

Mis comentarios no iban dirigidos a ti.

My comments were not directed at you.

Ellos iban de la mano.

They were holding hands.

Todos los que iban en el coche dijeron que querían salir y estirar las piernas.

Everyone in the car said they wanted to get out and stretch their legs.

Ya, pero es que iban juntas.

Right, but the thing is, they were together.

— Los lunes al sol (2002)

Tom y María iban sentados el uno frente al otro.

Tom and Maria were sitting opposite each other.

Los amantes iban del brazo.

The lovers were walking arm in arm.

Tom y Mary dijeron que se iban.

Tom and Mary said they were leaving.

Las palabras iban de aquí a allá.

Words flew back and forth.

— El cartero (y Pablo Neruda) (1994)

Ellos iban al hospital.

They were going to the hospital.

Esos son Frank y Christian iban a mi clase.

Those are Frank and Christian, they were in my class.

— Good bye, Lenin! (2003)

Sus palabras iban llenas de melancolía.

His words were filled with melancholy.

Bosco, llamó hace un rato, iban a una fiesta.

Bosco called a while ago; they were going to a party.

— Tesis (1996)

Dijeron que tal vez iban al norte.

They said they might be going north.

Los chicos eran todos atletas, iban a tope.

The guys were all athletes; they were going all out.

— Hermano 2 (2000)

Sounds similar to

ibas ˈi b a s