lavoravi

Lavoravi is the second-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb lavorare, meaning you were working or you used to work. It is used with the subject tu and typically appears in contexts describing ongoing or habitual past actions.

Morphology and related forms: Lavorare is a regular -are verb. The imperfect endings are -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano. Therefore, tu form is lavoravi. Related conjugations include io lavoravo, lui/lei lavorava, noi lavoravamo, voi lavoravate, loro lavoravano. The form is distinct from the passato prossimo (hai lavorato), which denotes a completed past action.

Usage: Lavoravi expresses an ongoing or repeated action in the past. It is commonly used with time expressions or clauses that set the background for another event, for example: "Quando eri giovane, tu lavoravi in negozio" or "Mentre studiavi, tu lavoravi part-time." In speech, imperfect forms are often preferred for descriptions, habits, or scenes, while the passato prossimo highlights specific completed activities.

Etymology and context: Lavorare derives from the Latin laborare, from the root labor- meaning toil or effort. The meaning in Italian has broadened to “to work” in general, with lavoravi reflecting a grammatical mood and tense rather than a standalone lexical item.

See also: lavorare, imperfetto, coniugazione dei verbi in -are.