The Peshitta employs a periphrastic construction ܕܐܡܪܝܢ ܗܘܘ (d-'amrīn hwaw, 'they were saying') using the participle with the auxiliary verb, making the imperfect aspect explicit. Greek ἔλεγον and Latin dicebant both use simple imperfect forms, though semantically equivalent to the Syriac periphrastic.