contava

Contava is a conjugated form of the verb contar in Portuguese and contare in Italian, functioning as the imperfect indicative in both languages. It expresses a past action that was ongoing, habitual, or not completed at the time referred to. In Portuguese, contava can mean either counting or telling, depending on context, and is often found in phrases such as ele contava até cem (he was counting to a hundred) or ela contava histórias aos filhos (she used to tell stories to her children). In everyday language, the sense of telling is common when contar is used with narratives or anecdotes.

In Portuguese, contar has two principal senses: to count numbers and to tell or recount stories. The imperfect form contava therefore covers both meanings when describing past activity. The form is also part of a broader set of imperfect endings for -ar verbs, used to convey durée and repetition in the past.

In Italian, contava is the imperfect of contare, used similarly to describe past ongoing or habitual counting. For example, lui contava i soldi (he was counting the money). Italian typically uses other verbs, such as raccontare, to mean “to tell a story,” whereas contare is primarily focused on counting or listing.

Etymology traces contare/contar to Latin computare, meaning to compute or reckon, with the sense extension to recounting or narrating in the Romance languages. Contava thus reflects the historical linkage between counting and recounting in these languages.