Past Habits and the Imperfect Tense
When you want to talk about past habits, recurring actions, or things you "used to" do, use the imperfect tense (l'imperfetto). In English, this often translates to "used to [verb]", "would [verb]", or a continuous past state.
| I often played video games. | Giocavo spesso ai videogiochi. |
| We often listened to the radio in the afternoon. | Ascoltavamo spesso la radio il pomeriggio. |
Conjugating Regular Verbs
To form the imperfetto for regular verbs, drop the final -re from the infinitive (-are, -ere, or -ire) and add the imperfect endings. Notice how the characteristic vowel of the verb family (a, e, or i) stays the same:
| Pronoun | -are (ascoltare) | -ere (leggere) | -ire (dormire) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | ascoltavo | leggevo | dormivo |
| tu | ascoltavi | leggevi | dormivi |
| lui/lei/Lei | ascoltava | leggeva | dormiva |
| noi | ascoltavamo | leggevamo | dormivamo |
| voi | ascoltavate | leggevate | dormivate |
| loro | ascoltavano | leggevano | dormivano |
The Imperfect in Action
Here is how the imperfetto looks when talking about retro entertainment and childhood hobbies:
| Did you all use to collect trading cards? | Collezionavate le figurine? |
| I used to collect toys, but I didn't exchange them. | Collezionavo i giocattoli, ma non li scambiavo. |
| She didn't buy the trading cards, she used to receive them as a gift. | Non comprava le figurine, le riceveva in regalo. |
| There were no video games, so we read. | Non c'erano i videogiochi, allora leggevamo. |
| I used to rent a movie and I wouldn't sleep. | Noleggiavo un film e non dormivo. |
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