بودند

بودند

"Were" (third person plural, past tense of "to be").

Here, «بودند» denotes the past tense form of 'to be' for the third person plural.

آن‌ها دوستان خوبی بودند.

They were good friends.

In this sentence, «بودند» is used to indicate a state of existence in the past for the third person plural.

گیاهان به آب نیاز داشتند و به همین دلیل زنده بودند.

The plants needed water, and as a result, they were alive.

Here, «بودند» conveys a descriptive state of being in the past for the third person plural.

شاگردان در کلاس خیلی زرنگ بودند.

The students in the class were very clever.