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### The Imperfect Tense of "Avere"

Just as you use the imperfetto of *essere* to describe what things were like, you use the imperfetto of **avere** (to have) to talk about what you used to own (like childhood pets or beloved toys) and to describe ongoing physical or emotional states in the past. 

Here is how to conjugate **avere** in the imperfetto:

| Pronoun | Avere (Imperfect) |
|---|---|
| io | avevo |
| tu | avevi |
| lui/lei/Lei | aveva |
| noi | avevamo |
| voi | avevate |
| loro | avevano |

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### Feelings and States of Mind

Remember that Italian frequently uses *avere* for feelings or traits where English uses "to be" (for example, *avere paura* means "to be afraid"). You will use the imperfect of *avere* to describe ongoing past states, such as having courage, patience, or a doubt.

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### Asking Questions About the Past

To ask someone what they used to have or how they used to feel, simply use the corresponding imperfect form of *avere*. Notice how the formal "you" (*Lei*) uses the same form as *lui/lei* (*aveva*).

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The imperfect tense of to have (avevo)

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
bicycle	la bicicletta
to ride a bicycle, to cycle	andare in bicicletta
As a child, I had that red bicycle.	Da bambino, avevo quella bicicletta rossa.
hamster	il criceto
Last year we had a quiet hamster.	L'anno scorso avevamo un criceto tranquillo.
turtle	la tartaruga
Did you guys have a turtle in that garden? We go there often.	Avevate una tartaruga in quel giardino? Ci andiamo spesso.
teddy bear	l'orsacchiotto
My little brother had a teddy bear and was not afraid of anything.	Il mio fratellino aveva un orsacchiotto e non aveva paura di niente.
doll	la bambola
That girl had a very old doll.	Quella ragazza aveva una bambola molto vecchia.
parrot	il pappagallo
You guys had a very funny parrot, right?	Avevate un pappagallo molto divertente, vero?
courage	il coraggio
I didn't have the courage to tell the truth.	Non avevo il coraggio di dire la verità.
patience	la pazienza
You didn't have the patience for that project.	Non avevi la pazienza per quel progetto.
doubt	il dubbio
Madam, did you have a doubt about that document?	Signora, Lei aveva un dubbio su quel documento?
Last summer I had a bicycle and my cousin had a turtle.	L'estate scorsa avevo una bicicletta e mio cugino aveva una tartaruga.
My sister had a doll and I had a teddy bear.	Mia sorella aveva una bambola e io avevo un orsacchiotto.
You guys had a parrot, but they had something strange.	Voi avevate un pappagallo, ma loro avevano qualcosa di strano.
diary	il diario
I had a diary full of secrets.	Avevo un diario pieno di segreti.
The teacher always had a lot of patience.	L'insegnante aveva sempre molta pazienza.
I had a nice diary and I wrote a song in it.	Avevo un bel diario e ci ho scritto una canzone.
Yesterday you bought a hamster, but before you had a cat?	Ieri hai comprato un criceto, ma prima avevi un gatto?
My dog had a lot of courage.	Il mio cane aveva molto coraggio.
I had a doubt about the old parrot.	Avevo un dubbio sul vecchio pappagallo.
As a child I rode my bicycle every day.	Da bambino andavo in bicicletta ogni giorno.
I ride my bicycle to the park with my brother.	Vado in bicicletta al parco con mio fratello.

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