Imperfetto (Imperfect)
The Imperfetto is used to describe ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions in the past, as well as background information or states of being.
Mood:
The Imperfetto is used with the indicative mood, which expresses facts, certainty, and reality about ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
- Mood: Indicative (expresses facts and habitual or ongoing past actions)
Usage:
- To describe ongoing actions in the past: Mentre leggevo, ha iniziato a piovere. (While I was reading, it started to rain.)
- To express habitual actions in the past: Da bambino, giocavo a calcio. (As a child, I used to play soccer.)
- To provide background descriptions: Era una giornata calda. (It was a hot day.)
- To describe states of being: Io ero felice. (I was happy.)
Conjugation:
Italian verbs are categorized into three groups based on their endings: -are, -ere, and -ire. Here’s how to conjugate regular verbs in the Imperfetto.
Regular Verb Conjugation:
| Person | Verb: parlare (to speak) | Verb: credere (to believe) | Verb: dormire (to sleep) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Io | parlavo | credevo | dormivo |
| Tu | parlavi | credevi | dormivi |
| Lui/Lei | parlava | credeva | dormiva |
| Noi | parlavamo | credevamo | dormivamo |
| Voi | parlavate | credevate | dormivate |
| Loro | parlavano | credevano | dormivano |
Irregular Verbs:
Some verbs are irregular in the Imperfetto tense. Examples include:
- Essere (to be): ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano
- Fare (to do/make): facevo, facevi, faceva, facevamo, facevate, facevano
- Dire (to say): dicevo, dicevi, diceva, dicevamo, dicevate, dicevano
Common Time Expressions:
- Sempre (always)
- Spesso (often)
- Quando ero bambino (When I was a child)
Examples:
- Lui correva ogni mattina. (He used to run every morning.)
- Noi vivevamo in una casa grande. (We used to live in a big house.)
- Mentre dormivo, ho sentito un rumore. (While I was sleeping, I heard a noise.)
