Italian grammar · Elementary (A2)
The imperfetto: describing the past
How to form the imperfetto, when to use it for descriptions and habits, and how it works together with the passato prossimo.
How it's formed
The is the most regular tense in Italian. Take -re off the infinitive and add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. The stress in the form falls on the same syllable as in the form: par-LA-vo, par-LA-va-no.
Only a few verbs are irregular. has its own forms (), and , and use an older, longer stem: , , .
| Person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | ||||
When to use it
Use the to describe people, places, the weather and the time in the past: , , , . Age in the past also uses it: .
It also describes habits, things that used to happen: (As a child I used to play football every Saturday). And it describes actions that were in progress: (I was reading a book).
- Quando ero studentessa, abitavo a Bologna.When I was a student, I lived in Bologna.
- Ogni estate andavamo al mare.Every summer we used to go to the seaside.
- Il ristorante era pieno e c'era molta gente.The restaurant was full and there were lots of people.
Imperfetto or passato prossimo?
The tells what happened: single events, and periods with a clear end (, ). The sets the scene around those events.
A common pattern is (while) + imperfetto for the background, and the passato prossimo for what interrupted it: (While I was going home, I saw Marco).
| what happened: | what used to happen: |
| a closed period: | a description: |
| the event: | the background: |
| signal words: , (once, on one occasion), (suddenly) | signal words: |