Italian grammar · Intermediate
Imperfetto
The imperfetto is the Italian past tense for habits, descriptions, and actions that were in progress. It answers the question what was it like, or what used to happen, rather than what happened next. English spreads this meaning across used to, would, and was -ing, while Italian puts all three into one set of endings: -avo, -evo, -ivo.
Da bambino passavo le estati dai nonni.
As a child, I used to spend my summers at my grandparents' house.
What it is
The imperfetto looks at the past from the inside. It shows a situation while it was going on, with no interest in when it started or ended: the weather, someone's age, a routine, the scene in the background of a story. English has no single tense for this, so the same Italian form can translate as I used to read, I was reading, or simply I read.
Leggevo ogni sera prima di dormire. (I used to read every evening before going to sleep.)
How to spot it
Look for a v just before the ending: parlavo, leggevi, dormiva, finivamo. Almost every verb in the imperfetto has it, and the vowel before the v (a, e, or i) tells you whether the infinitive ends in -are, -ere, or -ire.
- Parlavo con mia sorella. (I was talking to my sister.)
- Leggevamo sempre prima di cena. (We always used to read before dinner.)
- Dormiva profondamente. (He was sleeping deeply.)
- Eravate in vacanza? (Were you on holiday? (plural you; essere is irregular))
Essere is the one common verb with no v at all: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano.
Imperfetto Quick Reference
Imperfetto endings: remove -re from the infinitive, then add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano
| Subject | parlare (-ARE) | leggere (-ERE) | dormire (-IRE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlavo | leggevo | dormivo |
| tu | parlavi | leggevi | dormivi |
| lui / lei / Lei | parlava | leggeva | dormiva |
| noi | parlavamo | leggevamo | dormivamo |
| voi | parlavate | leggevate | dormivate |
| loro | parlavano | leggevano | dormivano |
Common Imperfetto Examples in Italian
The imperfetto in real sentences:
Habits and Routines
- Da bambino giocavo sempre in giardino.
- As a child, I always played in the garden.
- Ogni estate andavamo al mare.
- Every summer we went to the seaside.
- Mia nonna cucinava ogni domenica.
- My grandmother used to cook every Sunday.
Words such as sempre, ogni estate, di solito, and da bambino are strong signals for the imperfetto.
Descriptions and Settings
- Era una giornata fredda e pioveva.
- It was a cold day and it was raining.
- La casa aveva un grande giardino.
- The house had a big garden.
- Erano le otto e faceva buio.
- It was eight o'clock and it was dark.
Time, weather, age, and physical description in the past are almost always in the imperfetto.
Actions in Progress
- Mentre cucinavo, ascoltavo la radio.
- While I was cooking, I was listening to the radio.
- Dormivo quando mi hai chiamato.
- I was sleeping when you called me.
The imperfetto sets the scene; a sudden event that interrupts it goes in the passato prossimo.
States of Mind
- Ero stanco e volevo dormire.
- I was tired and I wanted to sleep.
- Non sapevo la risposta.
- I didn't know the answer.
Verbs of feeling, wanting, and knowing usually take the imperfetto, because they describe a state rather than an event.
How the Imperfetto Is Built
One regular pattern covers almost every verb, and the handful of irregular verbs keep the same endings.
Remove -re, Add the Endings
Take the infinitive, remove the final -re, and add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. Parlare gives parla-, leggere gives legge-, dormire gives dormi-, and the endings are identical for all three groups.
Parlavamo per ore al telefono.
We used to talk for hours on the phone.
parla- + vo = parlavo.
No -isc- in the Imperfetto
Verbs like capire and finire add -isc- in the present (capisco, finisco), but not in the imperfetto. The regular pattern applies with no change: capivo, finivo, preferivo.
Da piccolo non capivo l'inglese.
When I was little, I didn't understand English.
capisco in the present, capivo in the imperfetto.
Irregular Verbs Use an Older Stem
Fare, dire, bere, and tradurre build the imperfetto on their old Latin stems: face-, dice-, beve-, traduce-. Once you have the stem, the endings are regular. Essere is the only fully irregular verb.
Faceva molto caldo e bevevamo solo acqua.
It was very hot and we were only drinking water.
fare → facevo, dire → dicevo, bere → bevevo.
Background Versus Event
When a story mixes past tenses, the imperfetto carries the background and the passato prossimo carries the events that move the story forward. Ask whether the verb describes the scene or something that happened in it.
Mentre aspettavo l'autobus, ho visto Marco.
While I was waiting for the bus, I saw Marco.
Scene: imperfetto. Event: passato prossimo.
Where the Stress Falls
In the io, tu, lui, and loro forms the stress falls on the vowel before the v: parlàvo, parlàvano. In the noi and voi forms it moves forward: parlavàmo, parlavàte. The accents here are only a guide; they are not written in normal Italian.
I miei genitori lavoravano in un negozio.
My parents used to work in a shop.
lavoràvano, not lavoravàno.
Common Mistakes with Imperfetto
Incorrect: Quando ero bambino, sono andato al mare ogni estate. (When I was a child, I went to the seaside every summer.)
Correct: Quando ero bambino, andavo al mare ogni estate. (When I was a child, I went to the seaside every summer.)
A repeated habit takes the imperfetto. English uses the same simple past for one trip and for a habit, which is why the error is common.
Incorrect: Ieri sera mangiavo una pizza con Paolo. (Last night I ate a pizza with Paolo.)
Correct: Ieri sera ho mangiato una pizza con Paolo. (Last night I ate a pizza with Paolo.)
A single finished event takes the passato prossimo. On its own, mangiavo sounds like the start of a story: I was eating a pizza when something happened.
Incorrect: Da piccolo non capiscevo niente. (When I was little, I didn't understand anything.)
Correct: Da piccolo non capivo niente. (When I was little, I didn't understand anything.)
The -isc- of capisco belongs to the present tense only. The imperfetto of capire is regular: capivo.
Incorrect: Mia madre direva sempre di no. (My mother always said no.)
Correct: Mia madre diceva sempre di no. (My mother always said no.)
Dire builds its imperfetto on the stem dice-, not on the infinitive. The same is true of fare (facevo) and bere (bevevo).
Irregular and Common Verbs in the Imperfetto
Only a few verbs are irregular in the imperfetto, and most of them are irregular only in the stem. The second table shows common verbs that are completely regular, even though they are irregular in other tenses.
The Irregular Verbs
Essere changes completely. Fare, dire, and bere use a longer stem and then follow the regular -ERE pattern.
| Pronoun | essere | fare | dire | bere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | ero | facevo | dicevo | bevevo |
| tu | eri | facevi | dicevi | bevevi |
| lui / lei / Lei | era | faceva | diceva | beveva |
| noi | eravamo | facevamo | dicevamo | bevevamo |
| voi | eravate | facevate | dicevate | bevevate |
| loro | erano | facevano | dicevano | bevevano |
Tradurre (traducevo) and other verbs in -urre follow the same idea as fare and dire.
Regular, Despite Their Reputation
Avere, andare, stare, and venire are irregular in the present, but their imperfetto is completely regular.
| Pronoun | avere | andare | stare | venire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | avevo | andavo | stavo | venivo |
| tu | avevi | andavi | stavi | venivi |
| lui / lei / Lei | aveva | andava | stava | veniva |
| noi | avevamo | andavamo | stavamo | venivamo |
| voi | avevate | andavate | stavate | venivate |
| loro | avevano | andavano | stavano | venivano |
Stavo plus a gerund (stavo leggendo) stresses that an action was in progress at a specific moment.
Quick Check: Imperfetto
Put the verb in brackets into the imperfetto.
1. Da piccola, (io / abitare) ___ a Napoli.
Answer: abitavo
a past situation that lasted
2. Ogni sabato (noi / vedere) ___ i nonni.
Answer: vedevamo
a habit, signalled by ogni sabato
3. (Essere) ___ le dieci e (piovere) ___.
Answer: Erano, pioveva
time and weather
4. Mentre (tu / dormire) ___, ho preparato la colazione.
Answer: dormivi
background action, interrupted by an event
5. Mio padre (fare) ___ il medico.
Answer: faceva
irregular stem face-
Imperfetto FAQs
- What is the imperfetto used for in Italian?
- The imperfetto describes the past as a situation rather than an event: habits (andavo a scuola a piedi), descriptions (era alto, faceva freddo), age and time (avevo dieci anni, erano le tre), and actions in progress (mentre leggevo). It is also used for polite requests: volevo un caffè means I would like a coffee.
- How do you form the imperfetto?
- Remove -re from the infinitive and add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. Parlare gives parlavo, leggere gives leggevo, dormire gives dormivo. The only fully irregular verb is essere (ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano); fare, dire, and bere use the stems face-, dice-, and beve-.
- What is the difference between the imperfetto and the passato prossimo?
- The passato prossimo reports a finished event: ho letto il libro, I read the book. The imperfetto describes an ongoing situation or habit: leggevo il libro, I was reading the book, or I used to read the book. In a story, the imperfetto sets the scene and the passato prossimo tells what happened.
- How do you say used to in Italian?
- Use the imperfetto. Italian has no separate word for used to: giocavo a tennis means I used to play tennis. The same form also covers English would for past habits, as in d'estate andavamo al mare, in summer we would go to the seaside.
- Is stavo plus gerund the same as the imperfetto?
- They overlap. Leggevo and stavo leggendo can both mean I was reading. Stavo leggendo puts more weight on the action being in progress at one specific moment, while the simple imperfetto is more general and also covers habits, which stavo leggendo cannot.