obbedivo

Obbedivo is the first-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb obbedire, meaning “I obeyed” or “I was obeying.” It expresses a past action that was habitual or ongoing and is commonly found in narrative and descriptive prose.

Etymology and form: The verb obbedire comes from Latin oboedire, and the Italian imperfect form obbedivo reflects regular conjugation patterns for -ire verbs. The stem is obbed-, and the imperfect ending attaches as -ivo for the first person singular.

Conjugation notes: In the imperfect tense, the full set of forms is io obbedivo, tu obbedivi, lui/lei obbediva, noi obbedivamo, voi obbedivate, loro obbedivano. The present tense of the same verb is obbedisco, and the past participle is obbedito, used in compound tenses with avere (e.g., ho obbedito).

Usage: Obbedivo appears in historical accounts, literary passages, and formal narration to describe a speaker’s past obedience or habitual compliance. It can convey discipline, conformity to rules, or adherence to instructions within a specified period. In contemporary spoken Italian, speakers might opt for alternative phrasings depending on nuance and register.

See also: Obbedire, the infinitive form; obbedito, the past participle; Italian grammar resources on imperfect tense and -ire verbs.

Obbedivo thus serves as an example of regular Italian verb conjugation in the imperfect and illustrates how past habitual actions are encoded in Romance-language morphology.