Imperfetto in Italian
The Imperfetto is a past tense used to:
- Talk about a habit in the past
Ex. Da bambina mi svegliavo alle 7 per andare a scuola (When I was a child I used to wake up at 7am to go to school)
- Describe a situation in the past
Ex. C’era il sole ma faceva molto freddo (It was sunny but very cold)
- Describe a person in the past
Ex. Era alto e aveva i capelli neri (He was tall and he had black hair)
Let’s see how to conjugate the Imperfect of a regular verbs in –are, -ere, -ire
| Giocare | Scrivere | Dormire | |
| Io | giocavo | scrivevo | dormivo |
| Tu | giocavi | scrivevi | dormivi |
| Lui/Lei | giocava | scriveva | dormiva |
| Noi | giocavamo | scrivevamo | dormivamo |
| Voi | giocavate | scrivevate | dormivate |
| Loro | giocavano | scrivevano | dormivano |
And here you can find the conjugation of essere (to be) and avere (to have)
| Essere | Avere | |
| Io | ero | avevo |
| Tu | eri | avevi |
| Lui/Lei | era | aveva |
| Noi | eravamo | avevamo |
| Voi | eravate | avevate |
| Loro | erano | avevano |
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