🔍 In short. The italian imperfetto is the past tense for ongoing situations, repeated actions, descriptions, and background scenes. It’s formed with one set of endings (-vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano) attached to the verb stem. Only four verbs are irregular: essere, fare, dire, bere. This guide covers the conjugation for the three groups (-are, -ere, -ire), the irregular forms, and the six everyday uses with audio examples and a quiz.
The italian imperfetto pairs naturally with the passato prossimo to tell stories: the imperfetto sets the scene and the passato prossimo marks the events that happened inside it. By the end of this guide you will recognise both jobs and pick the right form on your own.
Cosa impareremo oggi
👆🏻 Jump to section
- What the imperfetto does
- Regular forms: -are, -ere, -ire
- Essere and avere
- The four irregular verbs
- Use 1: Description and background
- Use 2: Habits and repetition
- Use 3: Two simultaneous past actions
- Use 4: Past ongoing action interrupted
- Use 5: Polite requests (volevo, desideravo)
- Use 6: Reporting future-in-the-past
- Cheat sheet: italian imperfetto endings
- Three common mistakes
- Dialog: a memory at the bookshop
- Frequently asked questions
- Related guides
What the italian imperfetto does
The italian imperfetto is a past tense that views an action from inside, while it is happening, without marking when it started or ended. The name says it: imperfetto means “not finished”. The action is in progress, the camera is rolling, the edges are blurred.
If you say ero stanco by itself, an Italian speaker will wait for a context: quando? Add a time anchor and the picture clicks: ieri ero stanco, “yesterday I was tired.” The imperfetto needs a setting to make sense, because it describes a state or a scene rather than a single event.
It pairs with the passato prossimo, which marks completed events: ieri ho lavorato (“yesterday I worked, full stop”) vs ieri lavoravo da casa (“yesterday I was working from home, ongoing situation”). The two tenses share the past but split the job: one for backdrop, one for what happened inside it.
Regular forms: -are, -ere, -ire
The italian imperfetto has one set of endings for all three verb groups. Take the infinitive, drop the final -re, and add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. The vowel before -v- changes by group: -a- for -are verbs, -e- for -ere, -i- for -ire.
| Person | parlare (-are) | leggere (-ere) | dormire (-ire) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlavo | leggevo | dormivo |
| tu | parlavi | leggevi | dormivi |
| lui/lei | parlava | leggeva | dormiva |
| noi | parlavamo | leggevamo | dormivamo |
| voi | parlavate | leggevate | dormivate |
| loro | parlavano | leggevano | dormivano |
Stress falls on the syllable before the ending in the singular and third-plural forms (par-LA-vo, leg-GE-vo, dor-MI-vo), then shifts onto the ending in noi and voi (parla-VA-mo, parla-VA-te). This is why the noi/voi forms feel longer when you say them out loud.
- -are. Quando ero in vacanza a Lucca, compravo il giornale ogni mattina al chiosco di piazza Napoleone.
When I was on holiday in Lucca, I bought the newspaper every morning at the kiosk in piazza Napoleone. - -ere. All’università, leggevo tanti libri di storia.
At university, I used to read lots of history books. - -ire. Qualche anno fa, non capivo l’italiano.
A few years ago, I didn’t understand Italian.
🔍 Stem trick. The italian imperfetto stem matches the voi form of the present indicative: parlate → parla-vo, leggete → legge-vo, dormite → dormi-vo. If you know voi parlate, you already know io parlavo.
Essere and avere
The italian imperfetto for avere follows the regular pattern (avere → aveva-, like other -ere verbs). Essere is the one verb that breaks completely from the rule: it has its own stem er- with the same endings.
| Person | essere | avere |
|---|---|---|
| io | ero | avevo |
| tu | eri | avevi |
| lui/lei | era | aveva |
| noi | eravamo | avevamo |
| voi | eravate | avevate |
| loro | erano | avevano |
You will use these two verbs in almost every sentence with the italian imperfetto, because they carry the descriptions: era for the weather (era inverno), aveva for personal traits (aveva i capelli biondi). Drill them until they come out without thinking.
- Da bambina, Caterina era molto timida e aveva sempre paura del buio.
As a child, Caterina was very shy and was always afraid of the dark. - Eravamo in cinque al tavolo, e tutti avevano già ordinato il dolce.
We were five at the table, and everyone had already ordered dessert. - I miei nonni avevano una piccola sartoria in via Fillungo a Lucca.
My grandparents had a small tailor shop on via Fillungo in Lucca.
The four irregular verbs
The good news about the italian imperfetto is that irregular verbs are very few: essere (covered above), fare, dire, bere. They are irregular only because they keep the older Latin stem (faceva-, diceva-, beveva-) instead of the short modern infinitive. After that, the same endings apply.
| Person | fare | dire | bere |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | facevo | dicevo | bevevo |
| tu | facevi | dicevi | bevevi |
| lui/lei | faceva | diceva | beveva |
| noi | facevamo | dicevamo | bevevamo |
| voi | facevate | dicevate | bevevate |
| loro | facevano | dicevano | bevevano |
Verbs ending in -urre (tradurre, produrre, condurre) follow the same logic: long Latin stem traduce-, produce-, conduce-. So io traducevo, lei produceva, noi conducevamo. Same with verbs in -orre (porre → ponevo) and -arre (trarre → traevo), but you will meet these rarely at A2 level.
- Matteo faceva l’architetto a Modena prima di trasferirsi a Berlino.
Matteo was working as an architect in Modena before moving to Berlin. - Mio nonno diceva sempre che il vino bianco va bevuto fresco.
My grandfather always used to say that white wine should be drunk cool. - A colazione i ragazzi bevevano una spremuta d’arancia e leggevano i giornali sportivi.
For breakfast the kids would drink fresh orange juice and read the sports papers.
Use 1: Description and background
The italian imperfetto sets the scene. Weather, age, appearance, mood, location, the colour of a room, the season, anything you would describe with “was/were” in English without a clear endpoint. This is the most natural use and the first one to internalise.
- Era inverno, la libreria di Pietro era piena di studenti che cercavano i libri di Natale.
It was winter, Pietro’s bookshop was full of students looking for Christmas books. - L’uomo che chiedeva informazioni aveva una giacca di velluto verde e un cappello strano.
The man asking for directions had a green velvet jacket and a strange hat. - Marcello Mastroianni recitava in modo naturale: nei suoi film sembrava sempre se stesso.
Marcello Mastroianni acted in a natural way: in his films he always seemed to be himself.
Use 2: Habits and repetition
Anything you used to do regularly in the past goes in the italian imperfetto. English signals this with “used to” or habitual “would”. Italian uses one tense for both. Common markers: sempre, spesso, tutti i giorni, ogni domenica, di solito, da bambino/a, quando ero…
- Quando ero studente all’università di Padova, andavo spesso ai concerti il sabato sera.
When I was a student at Padova university, I often went to concerts on Saturday nights. - Da piccola, Caterina passava le vacanze dai nonni in Lunigiana ogni estate.
As a little girl, Caterina used to spend her holidays at her grandparents’ in Lunigiana every summer. - L’inverno scorso, Francesco guardava la televisione tutti i giorni dopo cena.
Last winter, Francesco would watch TV every day after dinner.
Use 3: Two simultaneous past actions
When two actions were running at the same time in the past, both go in the italian imperfetto. The marker word is mentre (“while”), but it can also be implicit. Neither action is presented as finished: they are both in the camera frame, side by side.
- Mentre Caterina cuciva il vestito, Elena preparava il tè in cucina.
While Caterina was sewing the dress, Elena was making tea in the kitchen. - Pietro leggeva il giornale e ascoltava la radio, come ogni domenica mattina.
Pietro was reading the paper and listening to the radio, as he did every Sunday morning. - Mentre tornavamo da Modena, parlavamo del libro di Tabucchi.
While we were driving back from Modena, we were talking about Tabucchi’s novel.
Use 4: Past ongoing action interrupted
When an ongoing past action is cut short by a single event, the italian imperfetto handles the backdrop and the passato prossimo handles the interruption. This is the most common pattern in storytelling: setting plus something that happens.
- Mentre facevo la doccia, Pietro mi ha telefonato per la consegna dei libri.
While I was taking a shower, Pietro called me about the book delivery. - Eravamo a metà del pranzo quando è scoppiato il temporale a Lucca.
We were halfway through lunch when the storm broke out in Lucca. - Stamattina, mentre uscivo dalla sartoria di Caterina, ho incontrato un vecchio amico.
This morning, as I was leaving Caterina’s tailor shop, I bumped into an old friend.
🔍 Mentre rule. When you see mentre at the start of a past clause, the verb after it is almost always italian imperfetto. The verb in the second clause depends: another ongoing action triggers imperfetto; a single completed event triggers passato prossimo.
Use 5: Polite requests (volevo, desideravo)
One of the most useful italian imperfetto forms in everyday life is the polite request. Instead of voglio (I want) or desidero (I would like), Italians soften it with the imperfetto: volevo, desideravo. It is not literally a past form. It is a register signal that says “I am asking gently.”
- Buongiorno, volevo due etti di prosciutto crudo.
Hello, I’d like two hundred grams of prosciutto crudo. - Scusi, desideravo parlare con la signora Caterina della sartoria.
Excuse me, I’d like to speak with Mrs Caterina from the tailor shop. - Pietro, volevo chiederti se hai ricevuto i romanzi di Pennacchi.
Pietro, I wanted to ask you whether you received the Pennacchi novels.
You will hear this at the bar, in the bakery, at the post office, in any shop. Volevo un caffè sounds friendly; voglio un caffè sounds blunt. The conditional vorrei is even more polite, but volevo is what most Italians say in casual settings.
Use 6: Reporting future-in-the-past
When you report what someone said about a future plan from a past point in time, spoken Italian often uses the italian imperfetto instead of the formal condizionale composto. Both are correct; the imperfetto is faster and more conversational.
- Francesco ha detto che partiva per Trieste il giorno dopo.
Francesco said he was leaving for Trieste the next day. - Elena mi ha promesso che mi mandava le fotografie del matrimonio.
Elena promised me she’d send the wedding photos. - Pietro mi ha scritto che chiudeva la libreria per due settimane a Pasqua.
Pietro wrote to me that he was closing the bookshop for two weeks at Easter.
The formal version uses the conditional perfect: Francesco ha detto che sarebbe partito per Trieste. Both work; the imperfetto version is what you hear in conversation, while the conditional version is preferred in writing and formal speech.
🎯 Mini-task #1. Pick the right italian imperfetto form for each verb.
- Da bambino, io ___ (essere) molto timido.
- Mentre Caterina ___ (cucire), Elena ___ (leggere) un libro.
- Tutti i sabati noi ___ (andare) al mercato di Lucca.
- Voi ___ (avere) il telefono di Pietro?
- Pietro mi ha detto che ___ (partire) per Roma il lunedì.
- Scusi, ___ (volere) parlare con il direttore.
👉 Show answers
1. ero · 2. cuciva, leggeva · 3. andavamo · 4. avevate · 5. partiva · 6. volevo
Cheat sheet: italian imperfetto endings
One table, the whole italian imperfetto system. Keep it open while you draft your next past-tense sentence.
| Group | io | tu | lui/lei | noi | voi | loro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -are (parlare) | parlavo | parlavi | parlava | parlavamo | parlavate | parlavano |
| -ere (leggere) | leggevo | leggevi | leggeva | leggevamo | leggevate | leggevano |
| -ire (dormire) | dormivo | dormivi | dormiva | dormivamo | dormivate | dormivano |
| essere | ero | eri | era | eravamo | eravate | erano |
| avere | avevo | avevi | aveva | avevamo | avevate | avevano |
| fare | facevo | facevi | faceva | facevamo | facevate | facevano |
| dire | dicevo | dicevi | diceva | dicevamo | dicevate | dicevano |
| bere | bevevo | bevevi | beveva | bevevamo | bevevate | bevevano |
Three common mistakes
Three slips with the italian imperfetto flag an A2 sentence as written by a learner. Fixing them is fast.
Mistake 1. Using passato prossimo for a description. Wrong: Quando ero piccolo, ho avuto i capelli biondi. Correct: Quando ero piccolo, avevo i capelli biondi. Hair colour over a stretch of childhood is a state, not a completed event.
Mistake 2. Using passato prossimo with mentre. Wrong: Mentre ho fatto la doccia, è suonato il telefono. Correct: Mentre facevo la doccia, è suonato il telefono. The word mentre introduces an ongoing backdrop, so the imperfetto is mandatory.
Mistake 3. Forming the irregular four with the short modern stem. Wrong: faivo, divo, bevo (this is present tense), traduvo. Correct: facevo, dicevo, bevevo, traducevo. The Latin long stem is mandatory; there is no shortcut.
🎯 Mini-task #2. Pick imperfetto or passato prossimo for each gap.
- Ieri sera, mentre ___ (cenare), Caterina mi ___ (telefonare).
- Quando ___ (essere) bambino, Matteo ___ (vivere) a Modena.
- Stamattina ___ (io, andare) in libreria e ___ (comprare) tre romanzi.
- Pietro ___ (dire) sempre che ___ (volere) aprire una libreria sua.
👉 Show answers
1. cenavo, ha telefonato (interrupted) · 2. era, viveva (description + habit) · 3. sono andato, ho comprato (two completed events) · 4. diceva, voleva (repeated + state)
Dialog: a memory at the bookshop
Elena visits Pietro at his Lucca bookshop on a quiet Tuesday morning. Pietro is unpacking new arrivals; Elena starts reminiscing about her university years in Pisa. Notice every italian imperfetto for description, habit, or background, and every passato prossimo for single events.
👩🏼🦰 Elena: Pietro, scusa il disturbo, volevo solo dare un’occhiata ai nuovi arrivi.
Pietro, sorry to bother you, I just wanted to take a look at the new arrivals.
👨🏽🦱 Pietro: Tranquilla, stavo finendo di sistemarli. Sono arrivati ieri da Milano: tre scatole di romanzi e una di saggi.
No worries, I was just finishing arranging them. They arrived yesterday from Milan: three boxes of novels and one of essays.
👩🏼🦰 Elena: Mi ricordo che quando studiavo a Pisa, venivo da te ogni venerdì pomeriggio. Compravo sempre qualcosa, anche se non avevo molti soldi.
I remember that when I was studying in Pisa, I came to you every Friday afternoon. I always bought something, even though I didn’t have much money.
👨🏽🦱 Pietro: Eri una delle clienti più fedeli. E avevi una passione per la letteratura sudamericana, vero?
You were one of my most loyal customers. And you had a passion for South American literature, right?
👩🏼🦰 Elena: Esatto. Cercavo sempre Cortázar e Borges. Una volta, mentre guardavo lo scaffale, è entrato un signore anziano che leggeva ad alta voce le quarte di copertina.
That’s right. I was always looking for Cortázar and Borges. Once, while I was looking at the shelf, an old gentleman came in who was reading the back covers out loud.
👨🏽🦱 Pietro: Il professore Rossi, sicuramente. Veniva ogni martedì e parlava con tutti. Diceva che la libreria era il suo salotto.
Professor Rossi, definitely. He came every Tuesday and chatted with everyone. He used to say the bookshop was his living room.
👩🏼🦰 Elena: Allora, volevo prendere quel romanzo nuovo di Lia Levi che mi avevi consigliato la settimana scorsa. È ancora disponibile?
So, I wanted to take that new Lia Levi novel that you recommended last week. Is it still available?
👨🏽🦱 Pietro: Sì, ne avevo tre copie, ne ho vendute due ieri ma una è ancora qui. Te la metto da parte mentre prendi un caffè?
Yes, I had three copies, I sold two yesterday but one is still here. Shall I set it aside while you grab a coffee?
Count the italian imperfetto verbs Elena and Pietro use: volevo, stavo, studiavo, venivo, compravo, avevo, eri, avevi, cercavo, guardavo, leggeva, veniva, parlava, diceva, era, volevo, avevi, avevo, prendi. Most describe states or routines; the passato prossimo verbs (sono arrivati, è entrato, ha consigliato, ho vendute) mark single events.
🎯 Mini-challenge. Describe a memory from your childhood using at least five italian imperfetto verbs: one with essere, one with avere, one with fare, one habit (con sempre, spesso, ogni), and one polite request style (volevo, desideravo). Read it out loud to feel the rhythm of the past.
Test your understanding
The quiz below mixes the six uses of the italian imperfetto with a few imperfetto-vs-passato-prossimo traps. Take it after reading the cheat sheet, then come back to any section you missed.
LOADING QUIZ…
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Frequently asked questions
Six questions about the italian imperfetto come up in every A2 cohort. The answers below draw on real classroom usage and on the Crusca note Imperfetto narrativo.
How do you form the imperfetto for regular -are, -ere, -ire verbs?
Take the infinitive, drop the final -re, and add the endings -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. The thematic vowel stays: parlare becomes parla-vo, leggere becomes legge-vo, dormire becomes dormi-vo. The same six endings work for all three groups; only the vowel before -v- changes.
Which Italian verbs are irregular in the imperfetto?
Only four: essere (ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano), fare (facevo, facevi, faceva…), dire (dicevo, dicevi, diceva…), bere (bevevo, bevevi, beveva…). The last three keep their Latin long stem (facev-, dicev-, bevev-) instead of the modern short infinitive. Verbs in -urre (tradurre, produrre), -orre (porre), -arre (trarre) follow the same logic with traduce-, produce-, pone-, trae-.
What is the difference between ero and sono stato?
Both translate as I was, but they look at the past differently. Ero (imperfetto) describes a state without endpoints: Da bambino ero magro means my childhood was a long stretch of being thin. Sono stato (passato prossimo) marks a completed period or a single event: Sono stato in Italia per tre mesi means a defined block of time, now finished. Rule of thumb: if you can replace it with was/were-ing or used to be, pick the imperfetto; if it is over and done with at a specific point, pick the passato prossimo.
When do I use imperfetto vs passato prossimo?
Imperfetto is backdrop, ongoing state, repeated action, description, mentre clauses. Passato prossimo is single completed event, action with a clear endpoint, time markers like per X tempo, X volte, da… a… A useful test: if the event can be put on a timeline as a point or a finished bar, use passato prossimo; if it is a wide, blurry area, use imperfetto. The two often appear together: imperfetto sets the scene, passato prossimo introduces what happened.
Is volevo a polite request or a past want?
Both, and context decides. At the counter of a shop, volevo un caffè means I would like a coffee (polite present request, not past). In a story about yesterday, volevo un caffè ma il bar era chiuso means I wanted a coffee but the bar was closed (real past desire). The polite use is one of the most frequent imperfetto patterns in spoken Italian, used with verbs like volere, desiderare, voler chiedere.
Can I use the imperfetto for a single completed action?
Normally no, but two exceptions exist. The imperfetto narrativo (used in literature, news, and police reports) describes a single dramatic event with the imperfetto for stylistic effect: All’improvviso prendeva la pistola e apriva il fuoco. The imperfetto ipotetico (informal speech) replaces the conditional in if-clauses: Se me lo dicevi, venivo subito. Both are recognised by the Crusca but reserved for specific registers; in standard A2 use, stick to passato prossimo for completed actions.
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Related guides
Three guides that pair well with this one, plus an institutional reference on the literary imperfect.
- Italian Imperfetto vs Passato Prossimo: the contrast post, with side-by-side examples and a quiz on tense choice.
- Italian Indicativo Tenses: All 8: the hub on the indicative mood, showing where the imperfetto sits among the other past, present, and future tenses.
- Italian Stare + Gerundio Progressive: how to say I was doing with stavo + gerundio, an alternative to the bare imperfetto for ongoing action.
- Accademia della Crusca: Imperfetto narrativo: institutional note on the narrative use of the imperfect in journalism and legal language.
