chiamavamo

Chiamavamo is the imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb chiamare, meaning to call or to name. It expresses an action that was ongoing or repeated in the past and is commonly translated as "we were calling" or "we used to call."

In Italian, the imperfect is used to describe habitual past actions, events in progress in the past, or background information in narrative. For chiamare, the first-person plural imperfect ending is -avamo, giving chiamavamo. Other imperfect forms for the verb include chiamavi (you used to call), chiamava (he/she used to call), and così via for different subjects. The form is typically used with a subject pronoun (noi) or can be understood from context.

Examples of uso:

- Quando eravamo ragazzi, chiamavamo i nostri amici ogni sera. (When we were kids, we used to call our friends every evening.)

- Chiamavamo spesso la mamma per raccontarle le novità. (We often called mom to tell her the news.)

When used with the reflexive form chiamarsi, the phrase ci chiamavamo can mean either “we called ourselves” or, in certain contexts, “we were called by name” depending on the sentence structure. For example: Noi ci chiamavamo per nome, oppure Noi ci chiamavamo gli amici della scuola. This reflexive usage reflects naming or self-identification among a group.

Etymology and related forms: chiamare derives from Latin clamāre, meaning to shout or call aloud. Chiamare and its imperfect forms are part of standard Italian grammar and are closely related to other -are verbs. See also the entry on chiamare for broader conjugation and usage.