parlavano

Parlavano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb parlare, meaning to speak or to talk. It is used in narrative and descriptive past contexts to indicate actions that were ongoing, habitual, or simultaneous with another past event.

Formation and paradigm: For verbs in -are, the imperfect plural endings are -avamo, -avate, -avano. Therefore, parlavamo (we were speaking), parlavate (you all were speaking), parlavano (they were speaking). The full imperfect paradigm for parlare is: parlavo, parlavi, parlava, parlavamo, parlavate, parlavano.

Usage: Parlavano commonly appears in past-tense narration to set a scene or describe habitual behavior. Examples: "I bambini parlavano tra loro" (The children were talking among themselves) and "Quando eravamo giovani, parlavamo spesso di sogni e avventure" (When we were young, we used to talk often about dreams and adventures). The imperfect can also express duration or background timing in relation to other past actions, rather than a single completed event.

Notes: The form encodes the subject through its ending, and pronouns are often omitted in Italian. The imperfect contrasts with the passato prossimo, which marks completed past actions, and with other tenses used to indicate sequence or emphasis in past narration.

See also: Italian grammar, Imperfetto, Parlare.