Imperfetto

In brief

The imperfetto describes what used to happen or what was going on in the past. It is useful for habits, descriptions, and setting a scene. In English, it often corresponds to ‘used to’, ‘was doing’, or a simple past verb, depending on context.

Form

Remove -are, -ere, or -ire from the infinitive and add -avo/-avi/-ava/-avamo/-avate/-avano, -evo/-evi/-eva/-evamo/-evate/-evano, or -ivo/-ivi/-iva/-ivamo/-ivate/-ivano. Essere is irregular: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano.

Usage

• Talk about things you regularly did in the past, often with da piccolo or ogni estate.
• Describe past situations, such as the weather, someone’s age, or how someone felt.
• Show an action that was in progress at a particular time in the past.

Examples

• Da piccola, giocavo spesso in giardino. — As a child, I often played in the garden.
• Ieri alle otto, preparavamo la cena. — Yesterday at eight, we were preparing dinner.
• Faceva freddo ed ero stanca. — It was cold, and I was tired.

Common mistake

❌ Da piccolo, parlava italiano.

✅ Da piccolo, parlavo italiano.

To say ‘I used to speak Italian as a child’, use parlavo: the io form ends in -vo, while parlava is the lui/lei form.

Remember

Imperfetto endings are regular for most verbs; learn essere separately.