dicevano

Dicevano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb dire. It translates as “they said” or “they were saying” in English and is used to report speech, to describe ongoing or habitual past actions, or to set a background for events narrated in the past.

Grammatical notes: The imperfect of dire is regular in its endings: io dicevo, tu dicevi, lui/lei diceva, noi dicevamo, voi dicevate, loro dicevano. The form dicevano appears in narrative and reported speech to convey what others were saying in the past. It does not express a completed action by itself; rather, it often indicates repetition, duration, or a background context for what followed.

Etymology and usage context: Dire originates from Latin dicere. The imperfect form dicevano is common in Italian prose, journalism, and dialogue. It is frequently used with conjunctions such as che or di; for example, dicevano che sarebbe stato meglio restare.

Examples: Dicevano che non avevano fame. Dicevano di voler tornare domani. In literature, the phrase dicevano spesso viene citato to convey character dialogue or rumor about past events.

See also: Dire (verb); Imperfetto (grammar).