Imperfect Tense in Italian

Overview

The imperfetto (imperfect tense) is one of the most important past tenses in Italian. It describes actions that were ongoing, habitual, or repeated in the past — things you "used to do" or "were doing." While the passato prossimo captures completed events, the imperfetto paints the background: the weather, the time, how someone felt, or what was happening when something else occurred.

Think of the imperfetto as a wide-angle lens on the past. It does not focus on a single moment but rather stretches across time. "Da bambino, giocavo sempre nel parco" (As a child, I always played in the park) — the action had no clear beginning or end, it was simply part of life. This tense is essential for storytelling, describing past routines, and setting scenes.

Learning the imperfetto opens up a whole new dimension of expression. Combined with the passato prossimo, it lets you tell rich, layered stories about your past experiences.

How It Works

Regular conjugation

The imperfetto is one of the most regular tenses in Italian. Remove the -re from the infinitive and add the imperfetto endings:

Person	-ARE (parlare)	-ERE (leggere)	-IRE (dormire)
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

Notice the pattern: the characteristic vowel (-a- for -ARE, -e- for -ERE and -IRE) is followed by -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano.

Irregular verbs

Only a handful of verbs are irregular in the imperfetto, and they follow the same endings:

Person	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

Note that fare, dire, and bere use their older Latin stems (face-, dice-, beve-) and then follow regular endings. Only essere is truly irregular.

Main uses of the imperfetto

Use	Example	Translation
Habitual past actions	Andavo a scuola in bicicletta.	I used to go to school by bicycle.
Ongoing past actions	Mentre cucinavo, ascoltavo la radio.	While I was cooking, I was listening to the radio.
Descriptions in the past	Il cielo era blu e faceva caldo.	The sky was blue and it was hot.
Age, time, weather	Avevo dieci anni. / Erano le otto.	I was ten years old. / It was eight o'clock.
States of mind/feelings	Ero stanco e volevo dormire.	I was tired and wanted to sleep.
Polite requests (softened)	Volevo chiederti un favore.	I wanted to ask you a favor.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Quando ero piccolo, giocavo sempre fuori.	When I was little, I always played outside.	Habitual past
Mia nonna faceva una torta ogni domenica.	My grandmother made a cake every Sunday.	Repeated action
Pioveva e non avevamo l'ombrello.	It was raining and we didn't have an umbrella.	Background description
Mentre dormivo, è suonato il telefono.	While I was sleeping, the phone rang.	Ongoing + interruption
A vent'anni vivevo a Roma.	At twenty, I lived in Rome.	State in the past
Da bambini, bevevamo sempre il latte.	As children, we always drank milk.	Habitual action
Non sapevo che parlavi italiano!	I didn't know you spoke Italian!	Past state of knowledge
Diceva sempre la verità.	He/She always told the truth.	Repeated behavior
L'appartamento era grande e luminoso.	The apartment was big and bright.	Description
Ogni estate andavamo al mare.	Every summer we went to the seaside.	Recurring action
Ti aspettavo da un'ora.	I had been waiting for you for an hour.	Duration in the past
Volevo un caffè, per favore.	I wanted a coffee, please.	Polite/softened request

Common Mistakes

Using passato prossimo for habitual actions

• Wrong: Quando ero bambino, sono andato a scuola a piedi ogni giorno.
• Right: Quando ero bambino, andavo a scuola a piedi ogni giorno.
• Why: Habitual, repeated actions in the past require the imperfetto, not the passato prossimo. Words like "ogni giorno," "sempre," and "di solito" are strong signals for imperfetto.

Forgetting the stem change for irregular verbs

• Wrong: Io favo la spesa ogni sabato.
• Right: Io facevo la spesa ogni sabato.
• Why: Fare uses the stem face- in the imperfetto, not fa-. Similarly, dire uses dice- and bere uses beve-.

Confusing "era" and "era" with "aveva"

• Wrong: Aveva dieci anni e era alto. (not wrong but clunky)
• Right: Aveva dieci anni ed era alto.
• Why: Both avere and essere are used for descriptions in the imperfetto. Use avere for age (avevo 10 anni) and essere for characteristics (ero alto). When combining, use "ed" before "era" for smoother flow.

Overusing the imperfetto for single completed events

• Wrong: Ieri mangiavo una pizza. (implying a completed single event)
• Right: Ieri ho mangiato una pizza.
• Why: A single, completed action needs the passato prossimo. The imperfetto would only work if you mean "I was eating" as background to another event.

Usage Notes

The imperfetto is used more frequently in literary and narrative Italian than in everyday speech, where speakers sometimes default to the passato prossimo. However, in standard Italian, using the imperfetto correctly is a mark of fluency.

In spoken Italian, you may hear the imperfetto used in place of the conditional for hypothetical situations: "Se avevo tempo, venivo" instead of the grammatically standard "Se avessi avuto tempo, sarei venuto." This colloquial usage is widespread in central and southern Italy but is considered informal.

The "imperfetto di cortesia" (courtesy imperfect) — using the imperfetto to soften requests — is common in shops and formal settings: "Volevo sapere..." (I wanted to know...) sounds more polite than "Voglio sapere..." (I want to know...).

Practice Tips

1. Describe your childhood routines: Write about what you used to do as a child — what you ate, where you went, who your friends were. This naturally calls for the imperfetto and builds fluency with habitual past actions.
2. Set the scene: Practice describing settings: the weather, the time, what people looked like, how they felt. Narrate a photo from the past using only the imperfetto.
3. Combine with passato prossimo: Tell a short story where you set the background with imperfetto and then introduce events with passato prossimo: "Dormivo tranquillamente quando è suonata la sveglia."

Related Concepts

• Passato Prossimo vs Imperfetto — learning when to choose between these two past tenses
• Regular -ARE Verbs — the parent conjugation patterns
• Present Perfect — the other key past tense for comparison
• Essere (to be) — the most important irregular verb in the imperfetto