illustrava

Illustrava is commonly encountered as a nonstandard spelling of the Italian verb illustrare in the imperfect indicative. The standard form illustava represents the third-person singular imperfect of illustrare, which means “to illustrate” or “to clarify.” The verb illustrare itself derives from the Latin illustrare, meaning to illuminate or make clear.

In Italian, illustrare is a regular -are verb. The imperfect tense (imperfetto) uses endings -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano. Therefore, the correct third-person singular form is illustava (egli/ella/Lei illustava). The form illustrava with a double r is generally regarded as a spelling error or a stylistic anomaly in standard Italian, though it may appear in certain nonstandard texts or typographical variants.

Usage in sentences typically describes past actions that were ongoing, habitual, or serving as background in a narrative. Examples: “Il pittore illustra una scena durante il racconto” would be present, while in the past it would read “Il pittore illustava una scena mentre raccontava la storia.” Another example: “Il libro illust­rava molte scene d’epoca.” The imperfect contrasts with illustra to indicate completed past actions (illustò or ha illustrato) or with illustrare in other tenses to convey different nuances.

See also: illustrare, imperfetto, coniugazione dei verbi italiani.