chiedevo

Chiedevo is the first-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb chiedere, meaning to ask or to request. The imperfect tense expresses actions or states in the past that were ongoing, repeated, or not completed at a specific moment. Chiedevo is commonly used in narrative to set a scene, describe habitual past behavior, or convey questions that were being asked over a period of time.

Etymology and form: chiedere derives from the Latin quaerere, with a stem chiede- in the imperfect. The conjugation for the imperfect of chiedere is: io chiedevo, tu chiedevi, lui/lei chiedeva, noi chiedevamo, voi chiedevate, loro chiedevano.

Usage: Chiedevo is used to indicate past inquiries or requests, often without specifying a single moment. It frequently appears with direct objects, indirect objects, or infinitives, as in chiedevo informazioni (I was asking for information) or chiedevo a qualcuno qualcosa (I was asking someone for something). It can also introduce indirect speech in the past, for example Mi chiese dove stessi andando (He asked me where I was going).

Examples:

- Quando avevo dubbi, chiedevo informazioni al banco.

- Chiedevo al professore di ripetere la domanda.

- Mi chiese cosa volessi fare quel pomeriggio.

Relation to other tenses: The present form chiedo means “I ask,” while the imperfect chiedevo indicates a past, ongoing or habitual action. The future chiederò expresses a future request. Chiedevo is often contrasted with passato prossimo forms to convey nuance about duration or repetition of the past action.

In summary, chiedevo is a common, neutral expression for past inquiries in Italian, preserving nuance of ongoing or repeated questioning within a narrative or reported speech.