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Mia sorella aveva una bambola e io avevo un orsacchiotto.

Mia sorella aveva una bambola e io avevo un orsacchiotto.
My sister had a doll and I had a teddy bear.
From Lesson 104:The imperfect tense of to have (avevo)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Mia sorella aveva una bambola e io avevo un orsacchiotto.

Why do we use the imperfetto (aveva and avevo) here instead of the passato prossimo?
The imperfetto is used to describe ongoing states, habits, or situations in the past. Owning a toy as a child is an ongoing state over an indefinite period of time. If you used the passato prossimo (ha avuto or ho avuto), it would sound like you received or owned the toy for one specific, completed event.
Is the word io necessary before avevo?
Normally, you can drop subject pronouns in Italian because the verb ending tells you who is acting (avevo always means "I had"). However, io is included here to emphasize the contrast between the two people: "My sister had a doll, and I had a teddy bear."
Why is there no article before Mia sorella? Shouldn't it be La mia sorella?
In Italian, you usually put a definite article before a possessive (like la mia macchina). However, you drop the article when talking about a singular close family member. Therefore, it is just mia sorella.
Orsacchiotto is a long word for a toy! Where does it come from?
The root of the word is orso, which means "bear". The ending -acchiotto is a suffix in Italian used to describe baby animals or things that are small, chubby, and endearing. So, an orsacchiotto is literally a cute little bear!

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