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The imperfect (imperfetto) is one of major past tenses in Italian. It is often used in conjunction with the passato prossimo but conveys a different sense of the action. The challenging part beyond learning the forms of the imperfect, is deciding when to use it. Read on to find out more about forms and usage.

Forms

To form the imperfect for each class of verbs (-are, -ere, -ire), drop the last two letters of the infinitive, add a -v and then the endings bolded below.

imparare leggere dormire
io imparavo leggevo dormivo
tu imparavi leggevi dormivi
lui, lei, Lei imparava leggeva dormiva
noi imparavamo leggevamo dormivamo
voi imparavate leggevate dormivate
loro imparavano leggevano dormivano

✽ The conjugation for -ire verbs shown above is valid for -isc verbs (like capire) as well.

Some verbs have irregular stem changes in the imperfect, but only a few. The most important examples are essere, fare, dire, and bere. For a list of these conjugations, see the chart below.

bere dire essere fare
io bevevo dicevo ero facevo
tu bevevi dicevi eri facevi
lui, lei, Lei beveva diceva era faceva
noi bevevamo dicevamo eravamo facevamo
voi bevevate dicevate eravate facevate
loro bevevano dicevano erano facevano

Using the Imperfect

You can understand the imperfect most easily by way of contrast with the passato prossimo. The passato prossimo is used to recount actions completed at a certain moment in the past. The imperfect, rather, is used to recount (1) repeated (habitual) actions, (2) progressive (ongoing) actions and (3) descriptions, conditions or states of being. Let’s look at each of these cases more closely.

Repeated (Habitual) Actions

Study these English sentences:

  • As a child, I spent the summers with my grandparents.
  • During my first semester in college, I ate out a lot.
  • Last week at the beach, we got up late every morning.

All three examples refer to routine actions in the past, as opposed to one action occurring at a discrete point in the past, like Last summer I went to visit my grandparents.

You can express these three examples with the imperfect in Italian:

  • As a child, I spent the summers with my grandparents.
    Da bambino passavo l’estate con i miei nonni.
  • During my first semester in college, I ate out a lot.
    Durante il primo semestre all’università mangiavo spesso fuori.
  • Last week at the beach, we got up late every morning.
    La settimana scorsa alla spiaggia ci alzavamo tardi ogni mattina.

Progressive (Continuous or On-going) Actions

Take a look at these examples in English:

  • I was sleeping when you called. (The first action is on-going; the second action interrupts it.)
  • The students were reading the paper while the professor was talking. (Both actions are on-going.).)
  • I was thinking about you when you walked by. (The first action is on-going; the second action interrupts it>))

In many cases, a progressive action is used in combination with a one-time action, like in examples 1 and 3. In Italian, this would call for a combination of the imperfetto and the passato prossimo:

  • I was sleeping when you called.
    Dormivo quando mi hai telefonato.
  • The students were reading the paper while the professor was talking.
    Gli studenti leggevano il giornale mentre il professore parlava.
  • I was thinking about you when you walked by.
    Pensavo a te quando sei passato.

Descriptions

Essere (to be) is the most common verb used in descriptions, so it is also one of the most common verbs used in the imperfect. Other verbs, like stare (to feel), avere (to have), and sembrare (to seem) are also descriptive and are often used in the imperfect. Observe the use of descriptive verbs in the following examples in English:

  • Yesterday we came home early from the park because it was too hot.
    description: condition of weather
  • It was 3:00 a.m. when my friends finally arrived.
    description: time
  • I met Costantino’s mother yesterday. She was so nice!
    description: person
  • We didn’t got to the party last night because I didn’t feel well.
    description: state of physical being
  • I told my parents about my engagement. They were very happy.
    description: state of emotion
  • I was ten years old when we moved to California.
    description: age

As you see, the imperfect is often used in a sentence in conjunction with the passato prossimo. Each sentence above combines a one-time action with a description of a condition or state. Thus:

  • Yesterday we came home early from the park because it was too hot.
    Ieri siamo tornati presto dal parco perchè faceva troppo caldo.
  • It was 3:00 a.m. when my friends finally arrived.
    Erano le tre di mattina quando i miei amici sono finalmente arrivati.
  • I met Costantino’s mother yesterday. She was so nice!
    Ieri ho conosciuto la madre di Costantino. Era così simpatica!
  • We didn’t go to the party last night because I didn’t feel well.
    Non siamo andati alla festa ieri sera perchè non stavo bene.
  • I told my parents about my engagement. They were very happy.
    Ho detto ai miei genitori del mio fidanzamento. Erano contentissimi.
  • I was ten years old when we moved to California.
    Avevo dieci anni quando ci siamo trasferiti in California.

✽ When considering the use of the imperfect for description (of weather, time, physical appearance, emotional or physical condition, etc.), remember to use it only for those verbs which actually describe. For example the sentence “At 3:00 we left for the airport” does indeed make reference to time, but the verb (“left”) does not describe time. In the above sentence,  the first verb (“was”) actually describes the time, hence, the imperfect is used in this case: Erano le tre quando siamo partiti per l’aeroporto.

Imperfect vs. Passato Prossimo: Special Cases

There are certain verbs whose meaning changes slightly depending on whether they are used in the imperfect or passato prossimo:

Imperfect Passato Prossimo
volere wanting without realizing desire
e.g. Volevo andare al mare, ma non avevo soldi sufficienti.		 wanting and realizing the desire
e.g. Ho voluto andare al mare per vedere i miei amici.
potere being able to do something, but not actually doing it
e.g. Poteva studiare in Italia l’estate scorsa ma ha deciso invece di lavorare.		 having the capacity for doing something and realizing this capacity
e.g. Ho potuto accettare il lavoro in Italia.
dovere should have done something, but didn’t
e.g. Dovevo finire di scrivere la tesina prima di uscire, ma non l’ho fatto.		 was obliged to do something, and did it
e.g. Non sono uscita ieri sera perchè ho dovuto finire la tesina.
sapere to know
e.g. Non sapevo che avevi una sorella.		 to find out
e.g. Ho saputo che Maria si sposa a settembre.
conoscere to know, be familiar with
e.g. Non conoscevo molto bene gli amici di Laura.		 to meet for the first time
e.g. Abbiamo conosciuto molte persone interessanti alla festa ieri sera.

Imperfect: Practice