aspettava

Aspettava is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb aspettare, meaning to wait for or to expect. As a past-tense form, it signals that an action or state of anticipation was ongoing in the past rather than completed at a single moment. The corresponding forms include io aspettavo, tu aspettavi, noi aspettavamo, voi aspettavate, loro aspettavano.

In usage, aspettare governs a direct object when meaning “to wait for someone or something.” The imperfect form aspettava often translates into English as “he/she was waiting” or “he/she was expecting.” It can express ongoing action, habitual past behavior, or a sense of anticipation about an event that would occur. Context determines whether the sense is physical waiting or more general expectancy.

Examples include: “Lui aspettava da ore un messaggio.” “He had been waiting for a message for hours.” “Aspettava che arrivasse il treno.” “He was waiting for the train to arrive.” “Non sapeva cosa sarebbe successo, ma aspettava una risposta.” “He didn’t know what would happen, but he was waiting for an answer.”

Etymology: aspettare derives from Latin exspectare, meaning to look out for or to expect, with the Italian form reflecting regular phonetic development from Latin to the modern language.