Uses of imperfetto
Develop then and now through a focused practice itinerary.
The imperfetto
Use imperfetto for repeated habits, descriptions, age, time, weather, and background in the past. It tells us what was happening or what was usual.
- Da bambino giocavo sempre fuori.· As a child I always played outside.
- Era estate e faceva caldo.· It was summer and it was hot.
- Mentre guardavo la TV, ha telefonato mia nonna.· While I was watching TV, my grandmother called.
- Ogni estate andavamo al mare.· Every summer we used to go to the seaside.
Forms
For -are verbs, use -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano. For -ere and -ire verbs, use -evo and -ivo patterns. Essere is irregular: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano.
- parlavo, prendevo, dormivo· I used to speak, take, sleep
- Quando ero piccolo, vivevo in campagna.· When I was little, I lived in the countryside.
- Di solito tornavo a casa alle cinque, ma un giorno ho perso l’autobus.· I usually returned home at five, but one day I missed the bus.
- Quando ero piccolo/a…· When I was little…