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ellos iban

were going, used to go, were (doing)

ˈi b a n → ir
i to go + ban third-person plural imperfect past
verb · 3rd-person plural, imperfect tense Uncommon #12,753
were going, used to go
SP: Los niños iban al parque cada tarde.
EN: The children used to go to the park every afternoon.
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

Sus palabras iban llenas de melancolía.

His words were filled with melancholy.

Iban en la cola del avión.

They were in the tail of the plane.

— La sociedad de la nieve (2023)

Sólo que ellos iban tapados con unos trapos.

Except they were covered with some rags.

— PK (2014)

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.

Iban a ochenta kilómetros y nos adelantaron.

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

Casi todos los días iban caminando desde sus casas.

Almost every day, they walked from their homes.

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

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

— Tesis (1996)

Tom y Mary dijeron que se iban.

Tom and Mary said they were leaving.

Al poco tiempo, los seis anunciaron que se iban.

Soon afterward, all six announced they were leaving.

Iban por Shadows of Stars.

They were going to Shadows of Stars.

Pero iban detrás de David, no de mí.

But they were after David, not me.

Mis comentarios no iban dirigidos a ti.

My comments were not directed at you.

No iban por ti.

They weren’t coming for you.

¿Cuántos marineros iban a bordo del barco que se hundió?

How many sailors were on board the ship that sank?

Ellos iban al hospital.

They were going to the hospital.

¿Me dicen en qué parte iban del libro de Pritchard?

Can you tell me what part of Pritchard's book you were up to?

— La Sociedad de los Poetas Muertos (1989)

Pero todas sus llamadas iban a un número incorrecto.

But all their calls went to the wrong number.

— PK (2014)

Los amantes iban del brazo.

The lovers were walking arm in arm.

¿Cuántas personas iban a bordo de ese barco?

How many people were on board that ship?

Dijeron que tal vez iban al norte.

They said they might be going north.

Tom conoció a Mary cuando iban en enseñanza media.

Tom met Mary when they were in middle school.

¿En qué dirección iban?

Which direction were they going in?

Para variar, las cosas iban bastante bien.

For a change, things were going quite well.

— Esplendor americano (2003)

Las cosas iban mal con Neiman tocando.

Things were going badly with Neiman playing.

— Whiplash: Música y Obsesión (2014)

Ellos iban de la mano.

They were holding hands.

¿Hacia dónde iban?

Where were they going?

— Máquina de guerra (2026)

Tom y María iban sentados el uno frente al otro.

Tom and Maria were sitting opposite each other.

Primero iban los préstamos hechos después de la muerte de Chris.

First came the loans made after Chris’s death.

Peter conoció a Pearl cuando iban juntos al colegio.

Peter met Pearl when they went to school together.

Ya, pero es que iban juntas.

Right, but the thing is, they were together.

— Los lunes al sol (2002)

¿Adónde iban ellos?

Where were they going?

Las palabras iban de aquí a allá.

Words flew back and forth.

— Il postino (1994)

auxiliary · 3rd-person plural, imperfect tense Rare #49,463
were (doing) Used with a gerund to describe an action in progress in the past.
SP: Los niños iban corriendo por el parque.
EN: The children were running through the park.
Conjugation of ir
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
Third iba iban
ir

Ellos iban viajando a Windsor.

They were traveling to Windsor.

Que nos iban estar vigilando.

That they were going to be watching us.

— Argentina 1985 (2022)

Al gatito le encantaba perseguir las monedas que iban rodando.

The kitten loved chasing the coins that were rolling by.

En medio de todo aquello, nuestros sucesos se iban anotando en el registro.

Amid all of that, our experiences were being recorded in the log.

¿Por qué iban de hacer algo así?

Why would they go and do something like that?

— Un profeta (2009)

Sounds similar to

ibas ˈi b a s