piantava

Piantava is the Italian imperfect indicative form of the verb piantare, which means to plant or to set into the ground. It describes an ongoing or repeated action in the past, and can be used with third-person singular subjects as well as the formal second-person for the polite form. For example, gli/lei/piantava potrebbe mean he/she was planting, or you (formal) were planting in the past.

Etymology and meaning: Piantare derives from Latin plantāre, related to planta, and entered Italian with senses related to placing something in the ground, fixing it, or setting it upright. The verb covers activities in gardening, agriculture, and related fields, as well as idiomatic uses like driving objects into surfaces.

Usage: The imperative sense includes planting trees, shrubs, seeds, or potted plants: piantare alberi, piantare semi, piantare piante. It can also refer to fixing objects into the ground, such as piantare un chiodo (to drive a nail) or figuratively to plant a flag (piantare una bandiera). In narrative or descriptive past tense, piantava conveys a habitual or continuous past action, e.g., Ogni primavera, lui piantava un giardino.

Grammatical notes: Piantare is a transitive verb, taking a direct object (what is planted). In the imperfect, piantava can mean “he/she/it was planting” or, in the formal address, “you were planting.” The form also appears in compound tenses when combined with appropriate auxiliary verbs.

See also: piantagione (plantation or planting area), pianta (plant), mettere a dimora (to set in place, synonym).