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ellos preguntaban

asked, were asking, wondered, were wondering

→ preguntar
pregunt to ask + aban 3rd-person plural imperfect
verb · 3rd-person plural, imperfect tense Rare #34,435
asked, were asking Used with someone or something being asked about.
SP: Me preguntaban la hora.
EN: They asked me the time.
wondered, were wondering Used with se to mean wondering or asking oneself.
SP: Se preguntaban qué hacer.
EN: They wondered what to do.
Conjugation of preguntar
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First preguntaba —
Third preguntaba preguntaban
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First preguntaba —
Third preguntaba preguntaban

Me preguntaban continuamente si sabía por qué me habían arrestado.

They kept asking me if I knew why I had been arrested.

— Zárójelentés (2020)

Otros preguntaban por mi viaje de comercio.

Others asked about my business trip.

Al principio preguntaban por Pedro.

At first, they were asking about Pedro.

— La historia oficial (1985)

Llamaban a mi puerta y me preguntaban por qué me iba.

They would knock on my door and ask me why I was leaving.

Mis hermanos lloraban y preguntaban por mi madre.

My siblings were crying and asking for my mother.

— Argentina 1985 (2022)

A lo mejor ya estaba muerto cuando me preguntaban por él ¿Hiciste la denuncia?

Maybe he was already dead when they asked me about him. Did you report it?

— La historia oficial (1985)

Y cuando me preguntaban, se lo decía.

And when they asked me, I told them.

¿Qué decías vos cuando te preguntaban qué querías ser?

What did you say when they asked you what you wanted to be?

— Nueve reinas (2000)

Se preguntaban qué hacer primero.

They wondered what to do first.

Claro que algunos se preguntaban cómo sabía de Bryant’s, y yo nunca lo decía.

Of course, some people wondered how I knew about Bryant’s, and I never told them.