lo habían

they had

→ lo

phrase Uncommon #21,696

they had Usually appears before a past participle, forming the past perfect: “they had him/it [done something].” “Lo” is a direct-object pronoun referring to a masculine person, thing, or previously mentioned action.

SP: No sabían que lo habían perdido.

EN: They didn't know that they had lost it.

Todos lo habían perdido todo.

They had all lost everything.

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

No tenía coche, se lo habían llevado las señoras.

He didn't have a car; the ladies had taken it.

— Las diabólicas (1955)

No lo habían interrogado.

They hadn't questioned him.

— Valor sentimental (2025)

Doctor Kelley, creí que lo habían despedido.

Dr. Kelley, I thought you had been fired.

— Núremberg (2025)

Tom pronto se dio cuenta de que lo habían engañado.

Tom soon realized that he had been deceived.

Creí que lo habían transferido o suspendido.

I thought he had been transferred or suspended.

Porque no lo habían visto.

Because they hadn’t seen it.

Ya me lo habían dicho.

I had already been told that.

— El paciente inglés (1996)

Dan ni siquiera sabía que lo habían manipulado.

Dan didn't even know that it had been tampered with.

Nunca se volvieron a ver, y al día siguiente ya lo habían olvidado todo.

They never saw each other again, and by the next day they had forgotten everything.

— It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

Todos lo habían reconocido.

Everyone had recognized him.

Tom y Mary dijeron que aún no lo habían hecho.

Tom and Mary said they still hadn't done it.

Porque no lo habían subido.

Because they hadn't uploaded it.

Estaba seguro de que a Tom lo habían secuestrado.

He was sure that Tom had been kidnapped.

Decían que lo habían encarcelado.

They said he had been imprisoned.