Common Uses of the Imperfetto
The imperfetto is an Italian past tense used to describe habits, repeated actions, and situations in the past. It is especially useful when talking about childhood, daily routines, or how things were at a particular time. In English, the imperfetto often corresponds to expressions such as used to or was doing, but it can also be translated with the simple past, depending on the context. Unlike the passato prossimo, which commonly describes completed past events, the imperfetto often describes what was happening, what people regularly did, or what a situation was like. For example, when talking about a past habit, Italian uses the imperfetto to show that an action happened regularly rather than on one specific occasion. This use is common with expressions such as sempre (always), spesso (often), and ogni giorno (every day).
The imperfetto is also used to describe people, places, and situations in the past, especially with verbs such as essere (to be), avere (to have), and fare (to do or make). It can describe the weather, a person's age, or how someone felt, without focusing on when the situation began or ended. Another important use is to describe an action that was in progress at a particular moment in the past. In English, this often corresponds to was or were followed by an -ing verb. For example, Ieri alle otto studiavo means Yesterday at eight, I was studying. The tense describes the action in progress at that moment, without focusing on its beginning or end.
Da bambino giocavo spesso al parco. — When I was a child, I often played at the park.
La casa era grande. — The house was big.
Ieri alle otto studiavo. — Yesterday at eight, I was studying.
Forming the Imperfetto
The imperfetto is relatively easy to form because most Italian verbs follow a regular pattern. For verbs ending in -are, -ere, and -ire, we remove the final -re of the infinitive and add the endings -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano, keeping the vowel that comes before -re. This vowel depends on the verb group: -a- for -are verbs, -e- for -ere verbs, and -i- for -ire verbs. For example, parlare becomes parlavo (I used to speak), prendere becomes prendevo (I used to take), and dormire becomes dormivo (I used to sleep). The same pattern applies to all six persons, using the appropriate ending for each subject. Unlike the passato prossimo, the imperfetto uses only one verb form and does not require an auxiliary verb.
parlare → parlavo — to speak → I used to speak
prendere → prendevo — to take → I used to take
dormire → dormivo — to sleep → I used to sleep
Most verbs follow these regular patterns, but essere (to be) has irregular forms that must be learned separately: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano. Another common verb, fare (to do or make), uses the stem face- with the regular imperfetto endings, giving forms such as facevo (I did or I used to do) and faceva (he or she did or used to do). These verbs are especially useful for describing situations in the past. In negative sentences, non comes immediately before the verb, as in non avevo fame (I wasn't hungry). The negative form does not change the conjugation of the imperfetto.
Non avevo fame. — I wasn't hungry.
Summary of the Italian Imperfetto
| Verb group | Infinitive | Imperfetto endings or forms | Example |
| -are | parlare | -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano | Parlavo. — I used to speak. |
| -ere | prendere | -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, -evate, -evano | Prendevo. — I used to take. |
| -ire | dormire | -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivate, -ivano | Dormivo. — I used to sleep. |
| Essere | essere | ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano | Ero stanco. — I was tired. |
| Fare | fare | Regular endings with the stem face- | Faceva caldo. — It was hot. |