Speravamo

Speravamo is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb sperare, meaning "we hoped" or "we were hoping." It expresses a past or ongoing act of hoping and is common in narrative and everyday speech when referring to past hopes.

Grammatical usage includes constructions with a subordinate clause. It is frequently followed by di + infinitive to indicate the content of the hope (for example, Speravamo di partire domani) or by che + congiuntivo to express a hoped-for outcome in a past context (for example, Speravamo che tu arrivassi in orario). The imperfect tense reflects the temporal perspective, signaling that the hopeful action or expectation occurred in the past and may have continued or changed afterward.

Examples:

- Speravamo di arrivare in tempo. (We hoped to arrive on time.)

- Speravamo che la situazione migliorasse. (We hoped that the situation would improve.)

- Speravamo di aver finito prima. (We hoped to have finished earlier.)

Conjugation and related forms: as an -are verb, sperare follows the standard imperfect endings: io speravo, tu speravi, lui/lei sperava, noi speravamo, voi speravate, loro speravano. The form speravamo is paired with a variety of subordinate clauses to convey the content or outcome of the hope. The present tense is speriamo, the past participle is sperato, and the gerund is sperando.

Etymology: speravamo derives from the Italian verb sperare, which its roots trace back to Latin sperāre, related to the noun spes meaning "hope."