volevamo

Volevamo is the first-person plural imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb volere, meaning to want. It translates to “we wanted” or “we used to want” and is used to describe past desires, intentions, or wishes that were ongoing or repeated. The full imperfect conjugation is: io volevo, tu volevi, lui/lei voleva, noi volevamo, voi volevate, loro volevano.

Usage in Italian centers on expressing a past state or ongoing attitude rather than a single completed action. Examples: Volevamo partire all’alba. We wanted to depart at dawn. Volevamo restare, ma le condizioni cambiarono. We wanted to stay, but the conditions changed. When referring to a past action that was completed, Italian typically uses the passato prossimo: abbiamo voluto.

Grammatical notes include that voleva often appears with subordinate clauses or infinitives to state a desire, and in clauses introduced by volere che, the subordinate verb can take the subjunctive mood (e.g., Volevamo che tu venissi). The imperfect form contrasts with the present tense (vogliamo, voglio) and with the passato prossimo (abbiamo voluto), highlighting whether the desire was habitual or ongoing in the past rather than a single, completed event.

Etymology: volere derives from Latin velle, with related forms in other Romance languages (for example, voler in French, voler in Spanish and Portuguese). In modern Italian, volevo, volevi, voleva, and related forms remain common in narrative and dialogue to convey past states of wishing or intending.