Scusava

Scusava is the imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb scusare, which means to excuse or to apologize. The verb is derived from Latin excūsāre, from ex- “out” and causa “cause,” and entered Italian through the development of the Romance verb system. In Italian, scusare is transitive and can take a direct object or, more commonly in practice, be used with phrases such as per il ritardo or delle interruzioni to indicate what is being apologized for.

In use, scusava describes a past action that was habitual, repeated, or ongoing, or it can set a scene in narrative past. For example, one might say: Lui scusava spesso i propri errori, or Quando arrivava in ritardo, si scusava per il ritardo. The latter construction often appears with reflexive forms such as si scusava, depending on whether the subject refers to the person apologizing themselves. In everyday speech, the reflexive sicuso si scusa is more common in present contexts (mi scuso, si scusa), while the imperfect form scusava appears mainly in narrative or reported speech.

Conjugation notes: scusare is a regular -are verb. Imperfect forms include io scusavo, tu scusavi, lui/lei scusava, noi scusavamo, voi scusavate, loro scusavano. The reflexive variant is scusarsi, with forms such as mi scusavo in the imperfect. While scusare focuses on the act of apologizing, scusarsi emphasizes the act from the speaker’s own perspective.

See also: scusare, scusarsi, excusare.