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Saying "I want" (*voglio*) in a shop or salon can sometimes sound too direct. To soften your requests and sound polite, Italian uses the imperfect tense—even though you are talking about what you want *right now*.

This is the *imperfetto attenuativo* (polite imperfect). It works exactly like English when we say "I wanted" or "I was hoping" instead of "I want."

### Making Requests with *Volevo* and *Cercavo*

The most common polite imperfects are *volevo* (I wanted) and *cercavo* (I was looking for). Use them directly before a noun to gently state what you are after, like a trim (*una spuntatina*) or a specific cut (*un taglio*).

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### Expressing Intentions Gently

You can further soften your ideas using verbs of thought and hope, such as *sperare* (to hope) or *pensare* (to think). When followed by an action, use the preposition *di* before the infinitive.

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However, if you are "thinking of" a noun rather than an action, use the preposition *a* after *pensare*.

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If you use *desiderare* (to wish), attach it directly to the infinitive without a preposition.

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These polite forms are perfect for discussing a beautiful new hairstyle or updo (*un'acconciatura*).

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Polite imperfect (volevo, cercavo)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
trim (hair)	la spuntatina
I just wanted a little trim, please.	Volevo solo una spuntatina, per favore.
I was hoping to get a quick trim.	Speravo di fare una spuntatina veloce.
haircut	il taglio
I was looking for a completely new cut.	Cercavo un taglio veramente nuovo.
I was hoping to get the cut we were talking about.	Speravo di fare il taglio di cui parlavamo.
layered (hair)	scalato
I wanted my hair short and very layered.	Volevo i capelli corti e molto scalati.
I was thinking of a layered cut, except in the back.	Pensavo a un taglio scalato, tranne dietro.
side bang, forelock	il ciuffo
I was hoping to leave the side bang quite long.	Desideravo lasciare il ciuffo abbastanza lungo.
to lighten	schiarire
I wanted to lighten the side bang, except for the roots.	Volevo schiarire il ciuffo, eccetto le radici.
I was thinking of lightening my hair a bit.	Pensavo di schiarire un po' i capelli.
strand, lock (hair)	la ciocca
I wanted to make the strands lighter.	Volevo fare le ciocche più chiare.
I was trying to hide the grey strands.	Cercavo di nascondere le ciocche grigie.
hair dye	la tinta
I wanted to get a brown dye.	Volevo fare una tinta marrone.
I had already dyed my hair yesterday morning.	Avevo già fatto la tinta ieri mattina.
hairstyle, updo	l'acconciatura
I wanted the hairstyle from this photo.	Volevo l'acconciatura di questa foto.
I was hoping to try an elegant updo.	Speravo di provare un'acconciatura elegante.
voluminous	voluminoso
I wanted a very voluminous result.	Volevo un risultato molto voluminoso.
I was thinking of a voluminous and comfortable cut.	Pensavo a un taglio voluminoso e comodo.
hair conditioner	il balsamo
I was looking for a conditioner for blonde hair.	Cercavo un balsamo per i capelli biondi.
I had washed them without using the conditioner.	Li avevo lavati senza usare il balsamo.