dormivamo

Dormivamo is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb dormire, meaning "we were sleeping" or "we used to sleep." It is used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past or to set the scene in narration without implying a completed event.

In Italian, the imperfect tense for -ire verbs like dormire forms the noi ending as -ivamo. The full set of forms for dormire in the imperfect is: io dormivo, tu dormivi, lui/lei dormiva, noi dormivamo, voi dormivate, loro dormivano. The "iv-" sequence is a characteristic feature of many -ire verbs in this tense.

Usage notes: The imperfect conveys actions that were in progress in the past, descriptions, or repeated past activities. It often contrasts with the passato prossimo, which denotes completed actions. It can be combined with time expressions or conjunctions such as mentre or quando to indicate concurrent or background activity.

Examples: "Durante il viaggio, dormivamo profondamente." "Mentre la città dormiva, noi dormivamo ancora." These illustrate how dormivamo describes a continuing past state or habitual behavior without signaling a completed event.

See also: dormire, imperfect (grammatical tense), Italian verb conjugation.