allimperfetto

Allimperfetto, often written all'imperfetto in Italian orthography, is the imperfect tense in Italian grammar. It marks the imperfect aspect of past actions or states and is used to describe ongoing actions, repeated or habitual events, and background descriptions in past narratives. It is contrasted with the passato prossimo, which expresses completed past actions.

For regular verbs, the imperfect is formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding the corresponding endings: for -are verbs: -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano; for -ere verbs: -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, -evate, -evano; for -ire verbs: -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivate, -ivano. Examples: parlare -> parlavo, parlavi, parlava, parlavamo, parlavate, parlavano; credere -> credevo, credevi, credeva, credevamo, credevate, credevano; dormire -> dormivo, dormivi, dormiva, dormivamo, dormivate, dormivano.

Some verbs have irregular forms in the imperfect, notably essere (ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano), avere (avevo, avevi, aveva, avevamo, avevate, avevano) and andare (andavo, andavi, andava, andavamo, andavate, andavano). The imperfect is commonly used to describe settings and background in past narration, with verbs of time, weather, age, mental states, or repeated actions, as in: “Quando ero bambino, andavo al mare” or “Faceva freddo e pioveva.”

See also: Italian grammar, passato prossimo, congiuntivo imperfetto.

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