aprivamo

Aprivamo is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb aprire, meaning to open. It corresponds to the English “we were opening” or “we used to open.” As an imperfect form, it describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past rather than completed events. The base verb is aprire, which is transitive and takes a direct object, such as a door or a window.

Morphology and conjugation details: aprire is a regular -ire verb, and in the imperfect tense the endings are -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. Therefore, the forms include io aprivo, tu aprivi, lui/lei apriva, noi aprivamo, voi aprivate, loro aprivano. Aprivamo combines the stem apr- with the imperfect suffix -ivamo, signaling plural subject and past imperfect aspect.

Usage: The form aprivamo is used when narrating past scenes with background action, or to describe habitual past behavior. It can take various direct objects: aprivamo la porta, aprivamo le finestre, aprivamo i regali, etc. In Italian, the imperfect is often contrasted with the passato prossimo to distinguish ongoing background actions from completed events.

Examples:

- Quando eravamo bambini, aprivamo spesso le finestre per far entrare l’aria.

- Durante l’estate aprivamo la porta al mattino e lasciavamo entrare la luce.

Etymology: aprire derives from Latin aperīre, with the root aper- (to uncover, reveal) evolving into the Italian verb. The imperfect form aprivamo reflects standard development of -ire verbs in Italian.

See also: aprire, Italian verb conjugation, imperfect tense, Italian grammar.