leggevamo

Leggevamo is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb leggere, meaning “to read.” In English, it conveys “we were reading” or “we used to read.” The form is built on the stem legg- with the imperfect ending -evamo, and the spelling leggevamo uses a double g to preserve the hard g sound before the following e.

Use in Italian centers on past actions that are ongoing, habitual, or set as background in narration. The imperfect describes what was happening over a period of time, actions repeated or customary in the past, and scenes that establish mood or context. For example: Leggevamo ogni sera prima di dormire. (We used to/read every evening before sleep.) Mentre leggevamo, la pioggia sembrava non finire. (While we were reading, the rain seemed endless.)

Grammatical notes: leggevamo agrees with the subject noi. Other forms of the same verb in the imperfect include leggevo (io), leggevi (tu), leggeva (lui/lei), leggevate (voi), leggevano (loro). The form leggevo for the first person singular shows the same verb family’s regular imperfect pattern, with leg- plus the -evo endings in the singular and -evamo in the plural.

Etymology traces legg- back to Latin legere, the infinitive meaning “to read.” The imperfect leggevamo is used across genres, from everyday speech to literary narration, to convey past reading activity without specifying a definite endpoint.