intensificò

Intensificò is the third-person singular form of the Italian verb intensificare in the passato remoto, the literary past tense used to describe actions completed in the distant past. As with other -care verbs in this tense, the ending for lui/lei is -ò, yielding intensificò. The infinitive intensificare means “to intensify” or “to heighten.”

Morphology and conjugation: Intensificò is formed from the stem intensific- plus the passato remoto ending -ò, with the accent indicating the final syllable. The full passato remoto conjugation of intensificare in the active voice is: io intensificai, tu intensificasti, lui/lei intensificò, noi intensificammo, voi intensificaste, loro intensificarono. This form is regular for -are verbs in the passato remoto.

Usage: In modern standard Italian, the passato remoto is primarily found in written language, historical narratives, journals, and fiction. It is uncommon in everyday speech, where the passato prossimo (ha intensificato) or imperfect forms (intensificava) are preferred. Intensificò is thus typically encountered in literature, chronicles, or formal prose, and may appear in regional storytelling or in translations that aim to reproduce a past-tense cadence of certain Italian dialects.

Examples: “Nella cronaca, il generale intensificò l’offensiva” and “Durante il secolo scorso, la pressione politica intensificò la riforma, e intensificò i conflitti.” These illustrate the narrative function of the form rather than colloquial usage.

Etymology: Intensificò derives from intensificare, itself from Latin intensificare, composed of intensus and facere, ultimately conveying the sense of making something more intense.