Learn Hardcore Italian: Durante la vacanza, leggevo molti libri e dormivo fino a tardi. - During the vacation, I used to read many books and sleep late.

In Italian, the imperfect tense (l’imperfetto) is used to describe ongoing or repeated actions in the past with no specific start or end. Here, leggevo suggests you were reading books habitually or regularly, and dormivo implies that sleeping late was also a habitual action.

What does molti libri mean, and could it change to molte?

Molti libri means many books. Molti is masculine plural because libri (books) is a masculine plural noun. If the noun were feminine plural (for example, riviste – magazines), you would say molte riviste.

What is the function of Durante la vacanza at the beginning of the sentence?

It sets the time frame for the actions that follow. Durante la vacanza means during the vacation, and it indicates that the reading and sleeping took place over that general time period.

Is fino a tardi used only with sleeping?

No, fino a tardi literally means until late, and it can be used in different contexts. For example, you could say Lavoravo fino a tardi (I used to work until late) or Studiavo fino a tardi (I used to study until late).

Could we use the passato prossimo tense (e.g., ho letto and ho dormito) instead?

You could, but it would change the meaning. The passato prossimo (ho letto, ho dormito) focuses on completed actions, possibly on specific occasions. The imperfect (leggevo, dormivo) emphasizes the repeated or habitual nature of the activities over that vacation period.

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