camminavi

Camminavi is the second-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb camminare, which means to walk. In English, it corresponds to “you were walking” or “you used to walk.” It is commonly used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past or to set a scene in narrative.

Grammar and formation: camminavi is built from the stem cammin- plus the imperfect ending -avi, following the pattern for -are verbs. The full imperfect paradigm for camminare is io camminavo, tu camminavi, lui/lei camminava, noi camminavamo, voi camminavate, loro camminavano. This form is distinct from the passato prossimo, which would use an auxiliary verb and a past participle (e.g., hai camminato) to indicate a completed action.

Usage and nuance: camminavi expresses a background action, a habitual behavior in the past, or a duration of walking without emphasizing its completion. It is often found with time cues such as quando, mentre, da bambino, spesso, or quando ero giovane. In contrast, camminare in passato prossimo (hai camminato) would indicate that the walk was completed.

Examples: Ti ricordi quando eri bambino e camminavi lungo il fiume ogni pomeriggio? (Do you remember when you were a child and you used to walk along the river every afternoon?) Mentre camminavi nel parco, ascoltavi la musica. (While you were walking in the park, you were listening to music.)

Notes: camminavi functions only as a verb form, not as a noun or independent term. It is commonly used in literature and everyday speech to convey past scenes, routines, or ongoing actions.