L’imperfetto: How to Form and Use the Italian Imperfect Tense

In this post, we’ll take a look at the Italian imperfect tense, a very important tense used to talk about the past. First, we’ll start with an introduction, defining the tense and explaining its major uses. Next, we’ll learn how to form the Italian imperfect tense, both for regular and irregular verbs. After that, we’ll take a closer look at the major uses of the tense, along with examples. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a few practice exercises.

Introduction to the Italian Imperfect Tense

L’imperfetto (the imperfect) is a past tense in Italian that expresses actions or situations that were ongoing, habitual, or repeated in the past. It also expresses past states, feelings, and background conditions. It’s called the imperfect, meaning unfinished, because unlike the passato prossimo the imperfect doesn’t express an action that finished at a particular point.

The Italian imperfect tense has similar uses as the English past progressive (was/were doing) or the habitual past (used to do). Here are a few examples.

• Da bambino, giocavo sempre fuori.
  When I was a child, I always played/used to play outside.
• Mentre cucinavo, lui guardava la TV.
  While I was cooking, he was watching TV.
• Faceva freddo e pioveva.
  It was cold and raining.
• Avevo un cane nero.
  I used to have a black dog.

The imperfect often gives context in the past. It paints the background picture of the past rather than narrating a specific completed action. For that, again, Italian uses the passato prossimo.

How to Form the Italian Imperfect Tense

To form the imperfect tense, remove the –re ending of the infinitive, but keep the first vowel (-a for –are, –e for –ere, or –i for –ire.) Then add the imperfect endings.

io / -vo	noi / -vamo
tu / -vi	voi / -vate
lui, lei, Lei / -va	loro / -vano

-ARE Verbs

Let’s see how that works with the common –ARE verb parlare (to speak.)

io parlavo	noi parlavamo
tu parlavi	voi parlavate
lui/lei/Lei parlava	loro parlavano

• Io parlavo con mia madre ogni giorno.
  I used to talk with my mother every day.
• Guardavamo il tramonto ogni sera d’estate.
  We used to watch the sunset every summer evening.

-ERE Verbs

Next, let’s see how that works with the common –ERE verb prendere (to take.)

io prendevo	noi prendevamo
tu prendevi	voi prendevate
lui/lei/Lei prendeva	loro prendevano

• Prendevamo sempre il treno per andare a scuola.
  We always took the train to go to school.
• Leggevo il giornale tutte le mattine con il caffè.
  I read / used to read the newspaper every morning with my coffee.

-IRE Verbs

Finally, let’s see the common –IRE verb dormire (to sleep.) One thing to keep in mind with –IRE verbs is that you never have to worry about the –isc– insert that some IRE verbs use in the present. It doesn’t come into play in the imperfect.

io dormivo	noi dormivamo
tu dormivi	voi dormivate
lui/lei/Lei dormiva	loro dormivano

• Dormivano fino a tardi la domenica.
  They slept late on Sundays.
• Finivamo sempre tardi il venerdì.
  We always finished late on Fridays.

Irregular Verbs in the Italian Imperfect Tense

Most Italian verbs are regular in the imperfect, but there are a few key irregulars that you should know.

Essere (to be)

io ero	noi eravamo
tu eri	voi eravate
lui/lei/Lei era	loro eravano

• Ero stanco, ma felice.
  I was tired but happy.
• Non erano a casa quando sono arrivato/a.
  They weren’t home when I got there.

Fare (to do/make)

The verb fare uses the stem fac– followed by –e– in the imperfect.

io facevo	noi facevamo
tu facevi	voi facevate
lui/lei/Lei faceva	loro facevano

• Facevamo sport ogni giorno.
  We used to play sports every day.
• Paolo non faceva mai i compiti da bambino.
  Paolo never did his homework as a child.

Dire (to say)

The verb dire uses the stem dic– followed by –e– in the imperfect.

io dicevo	noi dicevamo
tu dicevi	voi dicevate
lui/lei/Lei diceva	loro dicevano

• Dicevo sempre la verità.
  I always told the truth.
• Cosa diceva quando è uscita?
  What was she saying as she left?

Bere (to drink)

The verb bere uses the stem bev– followed by –e– in the imperfect.

io bevevo	noi bevevamo
tu bevevi	voi bevevate
lui/lei/Lei beveva	loro bevevano

• Bevevano vino a cena ogni sera.
  They drank wine at dinner every evening.
• Bevevo molto caffè quando ero all’università.
  I drank a lot of coffee when I was at the university.

Porre (to put) and Other –orre Verbs

The verb porre and other verbs ending in –orre use the stem pon– followed by –e– in the imperfect.

io ponevo	noi ponevamo
tu ponevi	voi ponevate
lui/lei/Lei poneva	loro ponevano

Other common –orre verbs include: opporre (to oppose), proporre (to propose), supporre (to suppose), and sottoporre (to submit).

• Poneva il libro sul tavolo ogni sera.
  He would put the book on the table every evening.
• Sottoponevo i miei progetti al capo.
  I used to submit my projects to the boss.

Tradurre (to translate) and Other –urre Verbs

The verb tradurre and other verbs ending in –urre use the stem duc– followed by –e– in the imperfect.

io traducevo	noi traducevamo
tu traducevi	voi traducevate
lui/lei/Lei traduceva	loro traducevano

Other common –urre verbs include: condurre (to conduct), introdurre (to introduce, to insert), produrre (to produce), and ridurre (to reduce).

• Traducevo molti testi all’università.
  I used to translate many texts at university.
• La fabbrica produceva automobili di alta qualità.
  The factory used to produce high-quality cars.

Major Uses of the Italian Imperfect Tense

Now let’s go over the major uses of the Italian imperfect tense.

Ongoing or Continuous Actions in the Past

The imperfect expresses actions that were happening over time or were interrupted by another action. If there is an interrupting action, it uses the passato prossimo.

• Studiavo tutta la sera.
  I was studying all evening. I used to study all evening.
• Mentre studiavo, è suonato il telefono.
  While I was studying, the phone rang.
• Lui guidava e parlava al telefono.
  He was driving and talking on the phone.

Habitual or Repeated Actions in the Past

The imperfect also expresses things that happened regularly in the past. This is similar to English constructions with used to or would.

• Ogni estate andavamo al mare.
  Every summer we would go to the seaside.
• Da piccolo, leggevo molti libri.
  As a child, I used to read a lot of books.
• Uscivano sempre il sabato sera.
  They always went/used to go out on Saturday nights.

Descriptions and States in the Past

Things like weather, emotional states, physical appearance, personality, and time typically use the imperfect in the past. This makes sense if you think of these things not as “point” actions that happened at a specific time, but rather as ongoing background conditions.

• Era alto e aveva i capelli neri.
  He was tall and had black hair.
• Faceva caldo e il cielo era azzurro.
  It was hot and the sky was blue.
• Ero felice di vederla.
  I was happy to see her.
• Erano le otto di sera.
  It was eight o’clock in the evening.

Simultaneous Actions in the Past

Two actions were happening at the same time typically use the imperfect.

• Mentre lui leggeva, io scrivevo.
  While he was reading, I was writing.
• Guardavano la TV e mangiavano la pizza.
  They were watching TV and eating pizza.
• Maria lavorava mentre Marco dormiva.
  Maria was working while Marco was sleeping.

Practice Exercises

Now let’s practice.

Practice 1

Complete the sentences with the missing verb in the imperfect, and translate your answers.

1. Lo studente _____ i compiti. (fare)
2. Noi _____ al parco ogni domenica. (andare)
3. Io _____ un libro interessante. (leggere)
4. Voi _____ sempre la verità. (dire)
5. Loro _____ il calcio dopo la scuola. (giocare)
6. Lei _____ al telefono quando lui è arrivato. (parlare)
   

Practice 2

Now translate these sentences into English.

1. Da bambino, guardavo i cartoni animati ogni mattina.
2. Faceva freddo e pioveva tutto il giorno.
3. Mia nonna cucinava sempre la pasta la domenica.
4. Andavamo al lavoro in treno ogni mattina.
5. Non avevo soldi, ma ero felice.
   

Practice 3

Finally, see if you can translate these into Italian using the imperfect:

1. When I was little, I used to go to the park.
2. It was raining and it was cold.
3. We were eating dinner when you called.
4. They used to live in Rome.
5. I wanted to buy a new car.

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Answer Key

1

1. Lo studente faceva i compiti.
   (The student was doing / used to do his homework.)
2. Noi andavamo al parco ogni domenica.
   (We used to go to the park every Sunday.)
3. Io leggevo un libro interessante.
   (I was reading an interesting book.)
4. Voi dicevate sempre la verità.
   (You all always told / used to tell the truth.)
5. Loro giocavano al calcio dopo la scuola.
   (They used to play / would play soccer after school.)
6. Lei parlava al telefono quando lui è arrivato.
   (She was talking on the phone when he arrived.)

2

1. When I was a child, I used to/would watch cartoons every morning.
2. It was cold and it rained all day.
3. My grandmother always cooked pasta on Sundays.
4. We used to go to work by train every morning.
5. I didn’t have money, but I was happy.

3

1. Quando ero piccolo/a, andavo al parco.
2. Pioveva e faceva freddo.
3. Cenavamo quando hai chiamato.
4. Vivevano a Roma.
5. Volevo comprare una macchina nuova.

Image by Nikolaus Bader from Pixabay