scuotevano

Scuotevano is the third-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb scuotere, meaning to shake or to shake up. This form is used to describe a past, ongoing, or repeated action carried out by multiple subjects.

In usage, scuotevano can describe physical shaking of objects or environments, as in a windstorm or earthquake, or it can be used figuratively to convey a stirring or disturbing effect on people or situations. For example, in a narrative it might read that “le notizie scuotevano la città” (the news was shaking the city), or that “i panni scuotevano al soffio del vento” (the clothes were shaking in the gust of wind).

Conjugation notes: scuotere is an irregular verb in some tenses, but in the imperfect indicative its forms are: scuotevo, scuotevi, scuoteva, scuotevamo, scuotevate, scuotevano. The stem for this tense is formed with the sequence scuot- plus the standard imperfect endings. The past participle of scuotere is scosso, used with avere in the passato prossimo (ho scosso, hai scosso, è stato scosso, etc.).

The form scuotevano is distinct from the corresponding imperfect of the regular verb scuotare, which would be scuotavano. The nuance lies in scuotere’s sense of producing a more abrupt or violent shake, whereas scuotare often conveys a lighter or more routine shaking, depending on context.

See also: Italian verb conjugation, scuotere, scuotare, passato prossimo.