This is the complete reference page for the Italian imperfetto. Every regular paradigm, every irregular verb worth memorizing, every use in summary, and a diagnostic guide for choosing between imperfetto and passato prossimo — all in one place. Use this page as a lookup; the conceptual treatment lives in the imperfetto overview.
The good news: the imperfetto is one of the friendliest tenses in Italian. The endings are uniform across conjugations, almost every "irregular" verb behaves regularly here, and the few real exceptions cluster into a small, memorizable set.
The endings (universal)
The imperfetto endings are the same for every verb in Italian, regular or irregular, with the only variation being the linking vowel a / e / i inherited from the infinitive class.
| Person | -are ending | -ere ending | -ire ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | -avo | -evo | -ivo |
| tu | -avi | -evi | -ivi |
| lui / lei / Lei | -ava | -eva | -iva |
| noi | -avamo | -evamo | -ivamo |
| voi | -avate | -evate | -ivate |
| loro | -avano | -evano | -ivano |
Regular conjugations
Regular -are: parlare (to speak)
| Person | Conjugation | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| io | parlavo | parlàvo |
| tu | parlavi | parlàvi |
| lui / lei | parlava | parlàva |
| noi | parlavamo | parlavàmo |
| voi | parlavate | parlavàte |
| loro | parlavano | parlàvano |
Regular -ere: credere (to believe)
| Person | Conjugation | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| io | credevo | credévo |
| tu | credevi | credévi |
| lui / lei | credeva | credéva |
| noi | credevamo | credevàmo |
| voi | credevate | credevàte |
| loro | credevano | credévano |
Regular -ire: dormire (to sleep) — and capire-class verbs behave the same way
| Person | dormire | capire (-isco class) | finire (-isco class) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | dormívo | capívo | finívo |
| tu | dormívi | capívi | finívi |
| lui / lei | dormíva | capíva | finíva |
| noi | dormivàmo | capivàmo | finivàmo |
| voi | dormivàte | capivàte | finivàte |
| loro | dormívano | capívano | finívano |
Da bambino capivo poco l'inglese, ma adesso lo parlo bene.
As a kid I understood little English, but now I speak it well.
Mio padre dormiva sempre con la finestra aperta, anche in inverno.
My father always used to sleep with the window open, even in winter.
Irregular imperfetti — the complete list
In the imperfetto, almost every verb that's irregular in other tenses behaves regularly. The exceptions are essere and a small group of verbs whose modern infinitives are abbreviations of longer Latin stems, which resurface here.
Essere — the irregular irregular
| Person | Conjugation | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| io | ero | èro |
| tu | eri | èri |
| lui / lei | era | èra |
| noi | eravamo | eravàmo |
| voi | eravate | eravàte |
| loro | erano | èrano |
Stem is er-, no -v- marker. See the dedicated essere page for the full treatment.
Verbs with hidden Latin stems
These verbs have short modern infinitives, but they reveal their longer Latin stems in the imperfetto. Once you see the stem, the rest is predictable.
| Infinitive | Latin-derived stem | io form | noi form | loro form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| fare (to do, make) | fac- (from facere) | facevo | facevamo | facévano |
| dire (to say) | dic- (from dicere) | dicevo | dicevamo | dicévano |
| bere (to drink) | bev- (from bevere) | bevevo | bevevamo | bevévano |
| porre (to place) | pon- (from ponere) | ponevo | ponevamo | ponévano |
| trarre (to draw, pull) | tra- (from trahere) | traevo | traevamo | traévano |
| condurre (to lead, drive) | conduc- (from conducere) | conducevo | conducevamo | conducévano |
Once you have the stem, the endings are perfectly regular -ere endings. Fare = fac- + -evo = facevo. Bere = bev- + -evo = bevevo. Condurre = conduc- + -evo = conducevo, and the same logic for all -urre verbs (produrre → producevo, ridurre → riducevo, tradurre → traducevo).
Cosa facevi quando ti ho chiamato?
What were you doing when I called you?
Mia madre diceva sempre di studiare, ma io non l'ascoltavo.
My mother always used to say to study, but I didn't listen.
Mio nonno beveva un bicchiere di vino rosso ogni sera.
My grandfather used to drink a glass of red wine every evening.
Da giovane traducevo articoli per un giornale online.
When I was young, I used to translate articles for an online newspaper.
Avere — perfectly regular
Avere takes the standard -ere imperfetto endings on a clean stem, with no silent h: avevo, avevi, aveva, avevamo, avevate, avevano. See the dedicated avere page.
"False irregulars" — these all behave normally
The following verbs are irregular in the presente or passato remoto, but completely regular in the imperfetto. Just take the stem from the infinitive and add the standard endings.
| Infinitive | io presente (irregular) | io imperfetto (regular!) |
|---|---|---|
| andare | vado | andavo |
| venire | vengo | venivo |
| tenere | tengo | tenevo |
| sapere | so | sapevo |
| volere | voglio | volevo |
| potere | posso | potevo |
| dovere | devo | dovevo |
| uscire | esco | uscivo |
| dare | do | davo |
| stare | sto | stavo |
This is one of the rare moments in Italian verb morphology where the news is uniformly good: if you can identify the infinitive, you can predict the imperfetto.
Stress: the universal rizotonic loro form
For every verb in the imperfetto, regular or irregular, the 3rd person plural is stressed on the root, never on the ending.
| Verb | Correct stress | Common error |
|---|---|---|
| parlare | parlàvano | parlavàno |
| credere | credévano | credevàno |
| dormire | dormívano | dormivàno |
| essere | èrano | eràno |
| fare | facévano | facevàno |
| avere | avévano | avevàno |
All the uses in one place
The imperfetto has one underlying logic — unbounded past — and several extensions of it. Here is the complete inventory.
| Use | Triggers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Habitual past | "used to," "would," tutti i giorni, ogni, sempre, di solito | Da bambino giocavo a calcio. |
| Ongoing past (progressive) | "was -ing," mentre clauses | Mentre leggevo, è suonato il telefono. |
| Description / background | scenes, settings, what something was like | La casa era grande e silenziosa. |
| Stative verbs in the past | essere, avere, sapere, conoscere, sembrare, sentirsi | Ero stanco e avevo fame. |
| Time, age, weather | "it was X o'clock," "I was X years old" | Erano le tre, faceva freddo, avevo dieci anni. |
| Polite requests (cortesia) | volevo, cercavo, chiedevo, in service contexts | Volevo un caffè. |
| Colloquial conditionals | doppio imperfetto in past counterfactuals | Se lo sapevo, venivo. |
| Single-imperfetto exclamations | "oh, I didn't know!" | Non lo sapevo! |
For the politeness use, see imperfetto for politeness. For the colloquial conditional use, see imperfetto in colloquial conditionals.
Imperfetto vs passato prossimo: the diagnostic checklist
The most important grammatical decision in any Italian past-tense sentence is which past tense to use. Run through these questions, in order, and the answer will usually be clear.
| Question | If yes → | If no → |
|---|---|---|
| Is the action repeated, habitual, or routine in the past? | imperfetto | continue |
| Is the action ongoing or in progress at a past moment ("was V-ing")? | imperfetto | continue |
| Is it a description, scene, or background state (not an event)? | imperfetto | continue |
| Is the verb stative (essere, avere, sapere, conoscere, sembrare)? | usually imperfetto | continue |
| Is it time of day, age, or weather as a past condition? | imperfetto | continue |
| Did the action happen at a specific point and end? | passato prossimo | passato prossimo |
Quick contrast table
| Imperfetto (unbounded) | Passato prossimo (bounded event) |
|---|---|
| Da bambino leggevo molto. (used to read) | Ieri ho letto un libro. (read one specific book) |
| Avevo dieci anni. (I was ten) | Ho avuto un cane per dieci anni. (closed history) |
| Era una bella giornata. (scene) | È stata una bella giornata. (closed assessment) |
| Pioveva da ore. (ongoing rain) | Ha piovuto stamattina. (rain event, now over) |
| Sapevo la risposta. (knew it) | Ho saputo la notizia ieri. (found out — punctual) |
The same verb can take either tense, with different meanings. Sapevo means "I knew" (state); ho saputo means "I found out" (event). Conoscevo means "I knew (a person)"; ho conosciuto means "I met (for the first time)." This shift is most visible with stative verbs, where the imperfetto preserves the state and the passato prossimo introduces the punctual edge.
Conoscevo Maria da anni quando ci siamo sposati.
I had known Maria for years when we got married. (state)
Ho conosciuto Maria a una festa nel 2010.
I met Maria at a party in 2010. (punctual event — first meeting)
Sapevo che era arrivato, ma non gli ho parlato.
I knew he had arrived, but I didn't talk to him. (state)
Ho saputo solo ieri della sua morte.
I only found out yesterday about his death. (event)
A worked example: a full narrative paragraph
Here is a short paragraph showing how imperfetto and passato prossimo cooperate in real Italian narration. Imperfetti set scenes and provide backgrounds; passati prossimi advance the plot.
Era una sera d'autunno e pioveva. Tornavo a casa dal lavoro, ero stanchissima e avevo fame. Mentre camminavo per via Garibaldi, ho visto una luce in una finestra. Mi sono fermata. Dentro, una donna anziana suonava il pianoforte. La musica era bellissima. Sono rimasta lì dieci minuti, poi sono andata via.
It was an autumn evening and it was raining. I was coming home from work, I was very tired and hungry. As I was walking down via Garibaldi, I saw a light in a window. I stopped. Inside, an elderly woman was playing the piano. The music was beautiful. I stayed there ten minutes, then I went away.
Notice the rhythm: imperfetti for the weather, the speaker's state, the woman's playing, the assessment of the music — all background. Passati prossimi for ho visto, mi sono fermata, sono rimasta, sono andata via — the punctual events that move the story forward.
The three most common errors
1. Using -isc- in the imperfetto
The -isco infix is only for the presente (and presente subjunctive and imperative). It does not exist in the imperfetto.
❌ Capiscevo poco l'italiano.
Wrong stem — the -isc- belongs only to the presente.
✅ Capivo poco l'italiano.
Correct — capivo, finivo, preferivo, pulivo, all without -isc-.
2. Passato prossimo for age, time, weather, and feelings
These four contexts overwhelmingly want the imperfetto. Even when English uses a simple past, Italian wants imperfetto.
❌ Ho avuto vent'anni quando ho conosciuto mia moglie.
Wrong tense for age — Italian uses imperfetto for past age.
✅ Avevo vent'anni quando ho conosciuto mia moglie.
Correct — avevo vent'anni for past age.
❌ Ieri sono stato triste.
Stylistically odd — feelings spread across time take the imperfetto.
✅ Ieri ero triste.
Correct — ero triste for the descriptive past state.
3. Passato prossimo where English has 'used to' or 'was -ing'
If the English sentence uses used to V, would V (habit), or was V-ing, the Italian almost certainly wants the imperfetto.
❌ Ogni estate sono andato in Sicilia con i miei nonni.
Wrong tense — 'every summer' is repeated, so imperfetto.
✅ Ogni estate andavo in Sicilia con i miei nonni.
Correct — habitual past requires the imperfetto.
❌ Mentre ho cucinato, ha squillato il telefono.
Wrong tense for the background — mentre clauses take imperfetto.
✅ Mentre cucinavo, ha squillato il telefono.
Correct — cucinavo for the ongoing background, ha squillato for the punctual event.
Common mistakes (extended)
❌ I miei genitori parlavàno sempre di politica.
Wrong stress — the loro form is rizotonic: parlàvano.
✅ I miei genitori parlàvano sempre di politica.
Correct — par-LÀ-va-no, stressed on the root.
❌ Quando ero giovane, sono stato felice.
Wrong tense — 'when I was young' is a sustained period; the inner verb wants imperfetto for an ongoing state.
✅ Quando ero giovane, ero felice.
Correct — both verbs imperfetto for sustained past states.
❌ Facevevo la spesa ogni sabato.
Wrong stem — fare uses the Latin stem fac-, not face-.
✅ Facevo la spesa ogni sabato.
Correct — io facevo, from the stem fac-.
❌ Bevvevo molto caffè a vent'anni.
Wrong stem — bere uses bev-, with single v.
✅ Bevevo molto caffè a vent'anni.
Correct — io bevevo.
❌ Da bambini, dicevàno sempre bugie.
Wrong stress — the loro form of dire is dicévano, root-stressed.
✅ Da bambini, dicévano sempre bugie.
Correct — di-CÉ-va-no, stressed on the second syllable.
Key takeaways
The imperfetto is the unbounded-past tense — it covers everything ongoing, habitual, descriptive, or stative in the past. The endings are uniform; almost every verb is regular here; the loro form is always rizotonic.
Three things to internalize, in order of priority:
The stress on the loro form is on the root: parlàvano, credévano, dormívano, èrano, avévano, facévano, dicévano, bevévano. Get the rhythm right and your imperfetto will sound right.
The -isc- group disappears in the imperfetto: capisco / capivo (not capiscivo). This is the single most common stem error.
Imperfetto = unbounded; passato prossimo = bounded. Habits, descriptions, states, time/age/weather → imperfetto. Discrete completed events → passato prossimo. Stative verbs (sapere, conoscere, avere, essere) almost always take imperfetto unless you specifically mean the punctual edge ("found out," "met for the first time," "got").
For deep treatments of specific topics, see imperfetto for politeness and imperfetto in colloquial conditionals. For the contrasting tense, see the passato prossimo overview.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- L'Imperfetto: OverviewA2 — The backbone of Italian past narration — the tense for ongoing, habitual, and descriptive past situations, and how it differs from the passato prossimo.
- Imperfetto: EssereA2 — How to conjugate essere in the imperfetto — the highly irregular forms, the fairy-tale 'c'era una volta,' and why this is the most-used past-tense verb in Italian.
- Imperfetto: AvereA2 — How to conjugate avere in the imperfetto — the perfectly regular conjugation, age and possession in the past, and the auxiliary that builds the trapassato prossimo.
- Imperfetto for Politeness (imperfetto di cortesia)B1 — Why Italians say 'volevo un caffè' instead of 'voglio un caffè' — the imperfetto of desire and inquiry verbs as a softener for everyday requests.
- Imperfetto in Colloquial ConditionalsB1 — Why Italians say 'se lo sapevo, venivo' instead of the textbook 'se l'avessi saputo, sarei venuto' — the colloquial double imperfetto and when to use it.
- Il Passato Prossimo: OverviewA1 — Italian's primary past tense for completed actions — how to form it, why the auxiliary choice (avere vs essere) is the most consequential decision, and where it fits in modern Italian.