they were disappeared

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase 'they were disappeared' is not correct and is not usable in written English.
A more accurate phrase to use would be 'they had disappeared'. For example: They had disappeared by the time we arrived home, leaving only a note on the doorstep.

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

8 human-written examples

She has been looking for her daughters for 10 years, ever since they were "disappeared" by the paramilitaries in Putumayo, south Colombia.

The Guardian

At the other extreme, Professor Adelman led us on a sobering tour of the Naval Mechanics School in Buenos Aires, where an estimated 5,000 victims of Argentina's "dirty war" were questioned before they were "disappeared". It is now a human rights museum, a testament to man's inhumanity to man.

Princeton University

The Sudden Departure didn't conform to what evangelicals had expected the Rapture to be — plenty of "Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and Jews and atheists and animists and homosexuals and Eskimos and Mormons and Zoroastrians, whatever the heck they were" disappeared, and many devout Christians remain — and the people left behind are united in their grief and their confusion.

The New Yorker

The Sudden Departure didn't conform to what evangelicals had expected the Rapture to be plenty of "Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and Jews and atheists and animists and homosexuals and Eskimos and Mormons and Zoroastrians, whatever the heck they were" disappeared, and many devout Christians remain and the people left behind are united in their grief and their confusion.

The New Yorker

The mothers and family members who spoke are experts in their own right they have searched for children when they were disappeared, unidentified in city morgues, or located in clandestine graves in the outskirts of the city.

University of Chicago

Like many thousands of Argentines, they were "disappeared" during the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983 - in their case apparently because they were working for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo human rights group.

BBC

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

52 human-written examples

They were disappearing fast, I can tell you.

The Guardian - Film

"I had a go, and suddenly we realised that they were disappearing because people were buying them".

The Guardian

I spied only one platter of food -- strawberry desserts -- and they were disappearing before waiters could set the trays down.

The New York Times - Travel

Mr. Cuomo said that for years his supervisor, Mr. Habler, had been taking his work sheets concerning certain Manhattan properties, "and they were disappearing and values were changing".

The New York Times

As fast as lizards were disappearing from Europe, they were disappearing from Mexico even faster.

Science Magazine

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use the past perfect tense ("they had disappeared") for grammatical correctness when describing an event that concluded before another point in time. It provides clarity and avoids potential confusion.

Common error

Avoid using "they were disappeared" because it's an incorrect formation. Prefer "they had disappeared" to clearly indicate a completed action in the past, or use alternative phrases like "they vanished".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "they were disappeared" attempts to use a passive construction, but it's grammatically incorrect. Ludwig AI identifies the correct form as "they had disappeared", which uses the past perfect to denote an action completed before a specific time. The examples illustrate attempts to convey the idea of people going missing or being made to vanish.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

57%

Academia

29%

Science

14%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "they were disappeared" is grammatically incorrect and should be avoided in formal writing. As Ludwig AI suggests, using "they had disappeared" or alternative phrases like "they vanished" provides grammatical correctness and clarity. While the phrase does appear in some contexts, particularly in news and media, it's essential to prioritize accuracy and professionalism in your writing. Remember to use the past perfect tense when the disappearance happened before another point of reference in time.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

they had disappeared

Uses the past perfect tense to indicate completion of the disappearance before a specific time.

they vanished

Employs a simpler verb to express the act of disappearing.

they went missing

Focuses on the state of being missing rather than the action of disappearing.

they were abducted

Suggests a forceful removal, implying an external agent caused the disappearance.

they were taken

A more general term implying removal, but not necessarily clarifying the circumstances.

they were lost

Implies an accidental or unintentional disappearance.

they ceased to exist

A more dramatic way of saying they disappeared, implying a complete removal from existence.

they became invisible

Uses a metaphorical term to represent the disappearance.

their presence was gone

Focuses on the absence of their presence.

they left without a trace

Emphasizes that no evidence of their departure remains.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "they were disappeared"?

The grammatically correct way to express the idea is "they had disappeared". This uses the past perfect tense to indicate that the disappearance occurred before a specific point in time.

Are there alternative phrases for "they were disappeared" that are more common?

Yes, alternatives such as "they vanished", "they went missing", or "they were abducted" are more frequently used and grammatically sound.

Which is correct, "they were disappeared" or "they had disappeared"?

"They had disappeared" is the correct grammatical form. "They were disappeared" is not standard English.

When should I use "they had disappeared" instead of "they disappeared"?

Use "they had disappeared" when you want to emphasize that their disappearance happened before another event in the past. If you're simply stating that they disappeared, "they disappeared" is sufficient.