Portavate

Portavate is the second-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb portare, meaning to carry or to bring. It expresses a past action that was habitual or ongoing in the past directed at you all (voi). The imperfect endings for regular -are verbs are -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano, so portavate corresponds to the sense “you were carrying” or “you used to carry.”

Usage and examples: Portavate is commonly used in narrative and conversational Italian to describe repeated past actions. Example: Voi portavate le scatole ogni giorno. The form is frequently paired with time expressions such as quando eravamo bambini or di solito to indicate habitual past activity.

Etymology and related forms: Portare derives from Latin portāre, with the root port- meaning to carry. Portavate shares the regular -are verb pattern and is parallel to other imperfect forms like portavo, portavi, portava, portavamo, portavate, portavano. The past participle of portare is portato, used in compound tenses with avere (ho portato, avevi portato, ecc.).

Function and nuance: In modern Italian, portavate appears in spoken and written language to set past scenes or recount routines. It should not be confused with present-tense forms such as portate (you carry/bring) or other imperfect forms like portavano (they were carrying). Portare forms also appear in compound tenses, where portato is used as the past participle (e.g., avete portato). Portavate thus remains a standard, everyday conjugation for describing past, repeated actions by a group.