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ellos esperaban

were waiting for, waited for, were expecting, expected

→ esperar
esper to wait + aban 3rd-person plural imperfect
verb · 3rd-person plural, imperfect tense Uncommon #24,214
were waiting for, waited for
SP: Los niños esperaban el autobús.
EN: The children were waiting for the bus.
were expecting, expected
SP: No esperaban tanta gente.
EN: They weren't expecting so many people.
Conjugation of esperar
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First esperaba esperábamos
Second esperabas —
Third esperaba esperaban
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First esperaba esperábamos
Second esperabas —
Third esperaba esperaban
esperase

Sus amigos la esperaban a la puerta.

Her friends were waiting for her at the door.

No se esperaban encontrarme.

They didn't expect to find me.

— Viaje a las estrellas II: La ira de Khan (1982)

Sé que no es la noticia que esperaban, pero aún no sacaremos a Emily del coma.

I know it's not the news you were hoping for, but we won't be bringing Emily out of her coma yet.

— Por eso lo llaman amor (2017)

Todos los demás esperaban.

Everyone else was waiting.

Esperaban dos niñas.

They were expecting two girls.

— Legado en los huesos (2019)

Antes conducía un taxi y los clientes esperaban conversación.

I used to drive a taxi, and customers expected conversation.

— Duro de matar (1988)

Casi se habían quemado vivos mientras esperaban.

They had almost burned to death while they waited.

Esperaban poder contribuir durante su tiempo libre.

They hoped to be able to contribute during their free time.

No esperaban que dijera eso.

They weren't expecting me to say that.

Los alumnos esperaban silenciosamente la llegada del profesor.

The students waited quietly for the teacher to arrive.

Se encontraron con alguien que no esperaban.

They encountered someone they weren't expecting.

— El señor de los anillos: Las dos torres (2002)

Esperaban retrasar nuestra partida.

They were hoping to delay our departure.

Mis padres esperaban que yo terminara con su pobreza.

My parents expected me to end their poverty.

— 3 Idiotas (2009)

¿A qué esperaban?

What were they waiting for?