Abandonaron la casa ayer.

They abandoned the house yesterday.

Breakdown of Abandonaron la casa ayer.

• la casa: the house
• ayer: yesterday
• abandonar: to abandon

Questions & Answers about Abandonaron la casa ayer.

Why is there no word for they in this sentence?

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already shows who the subject is.
So abandonaron already tells you the subject is they or you all.

You could say Ellos abandonaron la casa ayer, but ellos is usually only added for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

What does abandonaron mean grammatically?

Abandonaron is the preterite form of abandonar.

It breaks down like this:

• abandonar = to abandon
• abandonaron = they abandoned / you all abandoned

The ending -aron is the regular preterite ending for -ar verbs in the third person plural.

Could abandonaron mean you all abandoned instead of they abandoned?

Yes. Grammatically, abandonaron can mean either:

• they abandoned
• you all abandoned

In Spain, though, you all informally is usually vosotros, so the expected verb would be abandonasteis. Because of that, without more context, most learners should read abandonaron here as they abandoned.

It could still mean you all abandoned if the speaker is using ustedes, which is formal in most of Spain.