Sognava

Sognava is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb sognare, meaning to dream. It translates as he/she/it was dreaming and, in the formal address, Lei sognava would mean you were dreaming. The imperfect tense in Italian describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past and provides background or setting in narrative.

The infinitive sognare follows regular -are conjugation patterns. In the imperfect tense the endings are -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano, yielding forms such as io sognavo, tu sognavi, lui/lei sognava, noi sognavamo, voi sognavate, loro sognavano. The same stem sogn- is used across persons, with the appropriate ending.

Etymology traces the noun sogno (dream) to Latin somnium, and the verb sognare is derived from the same root, with later development in the Italian language. The concept is closely linked to dreaming as a mental activity during sleep, as well as to figurative meanings such as aspirations or wishes.

Usage and nuance: sognava commonly appears to describe past dreams or aspirations that occurred over a period or habitually. It can set a scene in fiction, report what a person was dreaming, or express ongoing hopes in the past. For example, one might say: “Quando era giovane, sognava di diventare musicista” (When he/she was young, he/she dreamed of becoming a musician). The form is also frequently found in indirect speech and literary prose.

See also: sognare, sogno, Italian verb conjugation.