ellos comieran

ate

k o ˈm j e ɾ a n → comer
com to eat + ieran 3rd-person plural imperfect subjunctive
verb · 3rd-person plural Rare #55,441
ate Used in a subjunctive clause; English often expresses it with “to eat.”
SP: Les pidió que comieran juntos.
EN: He asked them to eat together.
Conjugation of comer
Subjunctive
SingularPlural
Second comas —
Third — comieran

La mamá dejó que los niños comieran galletas.

The mother let the children eat cookies.

El entrenador les dijo a los jugadores que no comieran mucho antes del partido.

The coach told the players not to eat too much before the game.

Tuviste suerte de que no te comieran.

You were lucky not to get eaten.

— Lazzaro felice (2018)

Tom hizo que sus sirvientes comieran a oscuras.

Tom made his servants eat in the dark.

Sounds similar to