The imperfetto of -ire verbs is the third member of the regular trio, and it brings one critical insight that learners often miss: the -isco infix disappears. Verbs like capire and finire, which insert -isc- in much of the present (capisco, capisci, capisce, capiscono), drop that infix entirely in the imperfetto. So capisco in the present, but capivo — never capiscevo — in the imperfetto.
This page covers regular -ire verbs in the imperfetto, including both the plain -ire group (dormire, partire) and the -isco group (capire, finire, preferire). The takeaway is that in the imperfetto, the two groups behave identically.
How it works
To form the imperfetto of a regular -ire verb, drop the -ire ending from the infinitive to get the stem, then add the imperfetto endings. The endings follow the exact same template as -are and -ere: theme vowel + -v- marker + person ending. The theme vowel here is -i-.
The six endings are:
| Person | Ending |
|---|---|
| io | -ivo |
| tu | -ivi |
| lui / lei / Lei | -iva |
| noi | -ivamo |
| voi | -ivate |
| loro | -ivano |
Compare the three conjugations side by side:
| Person | -are | -ere | -ire |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlavo | credevo | dormivo |
| tu | parlavi | credevi | dormivi |
| lui | parlava | credeva | dormiva |
| noi | parlavamo | credevamo | dormivamo |
| voi | parlavate | credevate | dormivate |
| loro | parlavano | credevano | dormivano |
The structure is mechanically identical across all three. Only the theme vowel changes: a → e → i. This is one of the most beautifully regular paradigms in Italian.
Dormire — the model verb
Take dormire, drop the -ire to get the stem dorm-, then add each ending.
| Person | Conjugation | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| io | dormivo | dormìvo |
| tu | dormivi | dormìvi |
| lui / lei / Lei | dormiva | dormìva |
| noi | dormivamo | dormivàmo |
| voi | dormivate | dormivàte |
| loro | dormivano | dormìvano |
Dormivo profondamente quando mi ha chiamato.
I was sleeping deeply when she called me.
Da bambino dormivi sempre con la luce accesa, vero?
As a kid you always used to sleep with the light on, right?
Mio fratello dormiva fino a mezzogiorno tutti i sabati.
My brother used to sleep until noon every Saturday.
Quando vivevamo in campagna, dormivamo con le finestre aperte.
When we lived in the country, we used to sleep with the windows open.
I gatti dormivano sul divano tutto il pomeriggio.
The cats used to sleep on the sofa all afternoon.
The same stress trap
By now the pattern should feel familiar. The loro form stresses the root of the verb: dormìvano, with the accent on the second syllable, not on the ending. The same rule applies to every -ire verb in the imperfetto: partìvano, capìvano, finìvano, preferìvano.
The full stress pattern: singular and loro forms stress the -iv- core (dormìvo, dormìvi, dormìva, dormìvano); noi and voi shift the stress one syllable to the right (dormivàmo, dormivàte). This is mechanically the same rule as -are and -ere — once you have the rhythm in your ear for one conjugation, it transfers automatically.
High-frequency -ire verbs in the imperfetto
These all conjugate exactly like dormire:
| Infinitive | Meaning | io form | noi form | loro form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dormire | to sleep | dormivo | dormivamo | dormìvano |
| partire | to leave | partivo | partivamo | partìvano |
| sentire | to hear / feel | sentivo | sentivamo | sentìvano |
| aprire | to open | aprivo | aprivamo | aprìvano |
| offrire | to offer | offrivo | offrivamo | offrìvano |
| seguire | to follow | seguivo | seguivamo | seguìvano |
| servire | to serve | servivo | servivamo | servìvano |
| vestire | to dress | vestivo | vestivamo | vestìvano |
Partivamo sempre presto la mattina per evitare il traffico.
We always used to leave early in the morning to avoid traffic.
Sentivo della musica venire dal piano di sopra.
I could hear music coming from upstairs.
Aprivamo il negozio alle nove tutti i giorni tranne la domenica.
We used to open the shop at nine every day except Sunday.
The big point: -isco verbs lose their infix
Now the most important rule on this page. Verbs like capire (to understand), finire (to finish), preferire (to prefer), pulire (to clean), spedire (to send), costruire (to build) — the so-called -isco group — insert an -isc- infix in much of the presente indicativo: capisco, capisci, capisce, capiamo, capite, capiscono.
In the imperfetto, this infix completely disappears. The conjugation is built on the bare stem, exactly like dormire:
| Infinitive | Presente (1sg) | Imperfetto (1sg) |
|---|---|---|
| capire | capisco | capivo (NOT *capiscevo) |
| finire | finisco | finivo (NOT *finiscevo) |
| preferire | preferisco | preferivo (NOT *preferiscevo) |
| pulire | pulisco | pulivo (NOT *puliscevo) |
| spedire | spedisco | spedivo (NOT *spediscevo) |
| costruire | costruisco | costruivo (NOT *costruiscevo) |
Da bambino non capivo perché i miei genitori parlassero così piano.
As a kid I didn't understand why my parents were talking so quietly.
Finivamo i compiti prima di cena, altrimenti niente televisione.
We used to finish our homework before dinner, otherwise no TV.
Mio padre preferiva il vino rosso, mia madre il bianco.
My father preferred red wine, my mother white.
Mia nonna puliva la casa ogni sabato mattina, era un rituale.
My grandmother used to clean the house every Saturday morning, it was a ritual.
Spedivamo cartoline da ogni viaggio, lo facevano tutti allora.
We used to send postcards from every trip, everyone did back then.
The deeper rule: when does -isc- appear?
This is the insight that makes the whole pattern click. The -isc- infix is not random. It appears only in the strong tenses — the tenses where the stress lands on the stem rather than on the ending. These are exactly:
- presente indicativo (singular forms + 3rd plural): capìsco, capìsci, capìsce, capìscono
- presente congiuntivo (singular forms + 3rd plural): capìsca, capìsca, capìsca, capìscano
- imperativo (singular forms): capìsci! capìsca!
In every other tense — imperfetto, futuro, condizionale, passato remoto, all compound forms — the infix never appears. This is because in those tenses the stress moves to the ending, and the -isc- (which exists historically to carry stress on the stem) becomes unnecessary.
So the rule is:
| Tense | Form | -isc-? |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | capisco / capiamo | YES (sg + 3pl) / NO (noi, voi) |
| Imperfetto | capivo | NO (always) |
| Futuro semplice | capirò | NO (always) |
| Condizionale | capirei | NO (always) |
| Passato remoto | capii | NO (always) |
| Passato prossimo | ho capito | NO (always) |
This rule generalizes: anytime you're using an -isco verb in a tense other than presente indicativo, presente congiuntivo, or imperativo, drop the -isc- and conjugate on the bare stem.
Imperfetto vs passato prossimo with -ire verbs
The contrast is the same logic as for the other conjugations. Compare:
Quando dormivo, mi ha chiamato.
While I was sleeping, he called me.
Ieri ho dormito dieci ore.
Yesterday I slept for ten hours. (single bounded event)
Da bambino non capivo niente di quello che diceva mio nonno in dialetto.
As a kid I didn't understand anything my grandfather said in dialect. (habitual past state)
Finalmente ho capito.
I finally understood. (single moment of completed comprehension)
The first uses imperfetto because the sleeping is a backdrop — the calling is the event that interrupts it. The second uses passato prossimo because the ten-hour sleep is presented as a closed unit. With capire, the imperfetto describes a sustained state of incomprehension; the passato prossimo marks the specific moment of understanding.
Common mistakes
❌ Da bambino non capiscevo le poesie.
Incorrect — capire drops the -isc- infix in the imperfetto. The form is capivo, not *capiscevo.
✅ Da bambino non capivo le poesie.
Correct — bare stem capi-, no infix.
❌ Finiscevamo sempre i compiti dopo cena.
Incorrect — finire is regular in the imperfetto, no -isc- infix.
✅ Finivamo sempre i compiti dopo cena.
Correct — finivamo, no infix.
❌ I bambini dormivàno tutto il pomeriggio.
Incorrect — wrong stress on the loro form. The accent should be on the root, not on the -và-no.
✅ I bambini dormìvano tutto il pomeriggio.
Correct — dormìvano stresses the second syllable.
❌ Da giovani preferiscevamo viaggiare in treno.
Incorrect — preferire drops the -isc- infix in the imperfetto.
✅ Da giovani preferivamo viaggiare in treno.
Correct — preferivamo, no infix.
❌ Loro partivono alle sette ogni mattina.
Incorrect — the loro ending for -ire verbs is -ivano, not -ivono.
✅ Loro partivano alle sette ogni mattina.
Correct — partivano with -ivano.
❌ Da bambino ho dormito sempre con il mio cane.
Incorrect — habitual past actions take the imperfetto, not the passato prossimo.
✅ Da bambino dormivo sempre con il mio cane.
Correct — childhood habits take the imperfetto.
Key takeaways
The regular -ire imperfetto endings are -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivate, -ivano. The pattern is the same as -are and -ere; only the theme vowel changes.
Three things to internalize:
The loro form is rizotonic: stress on the root, not on the ending. Dormìvano, never dormivàno. This is the universal rule across all imperfetto conjugations.
-isco verbs lose the infix in the imperfetto. Capire → capivo (never *capiscevo). Finire → finivo. Preferire → preferivo. The deep rule: -isc- only appears in the strong tenses (presente, congiuntivo presente, imperativo).
The whole imperfetto system is one paradigm with three theme vowels. Once you have -are imperfetto down (parlavo), -ere (credevo) and -ire (dormivo) are mechanical substitutions of the theme vowel. There are almost no irregular -ire verbs in the imperfetto.
You now have the entire regular imperfetto. The remaining pieces are the two essential irregulars: essere, which is highly irregular and used constantly, and avere, which is fully regular but worth its own page because of how it pairs with imperfetto in expressions of age, possession, and bodily states.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Imperfetto: Regular -are VerbsA2 — How to conjugate -are verbs in the imperfetto, why English speakers chronically under-use this tense, and the stress trap that betrays every learner.
- Imperfetto: Regular -ere VerbsA2 — How to conjugate -ere verbs in the imperfetto — why this is the most regular tense in Italian, and the three sneaky exceptions that fool everyone.
- 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.
- Presente: Regular -ire Verbs (Pure Subgroup)A1 — How to conjugate the 'pure' subgroup of -ire verbs in the present indicative — a small but high-frequency closed list of verbs that follow the basic -ire endings without the -isco infix.
- Presente: -isco -ire VerbsA1 — How to conjugate the productive -isco subgroup of -ire verbs in the present indicative — the default pattern that covers the vast majority of -ire verbs you'll encounter.