Breakdown of Non c'erano i videogiochi, allora leggevamo.
non
not
c'è
there is / there are
leggere
to read
allora
then, so then
Questions & Answers about Non c'erano i videogiochi, allora leggevamo.
Why use the imperfetto leggevamo instead of abbiamo letto here?
The imperfetto is used for habits or ongoing situations in the past. Even though the English translation just says we read, it implies that we used to read or we would read. Because it describes a general past lifestyle rather than a single, completed event, we use leggevamo.
How do we form leggevamo from the verb leggere?
Leggere (to read) is a regular -ere verb. To make the noi (we) form in the imperfetto, you drop the -ere ending from the infinitive and add the regular ending -evamo. All regular -ere verbs use this exact same ending for noi.
Why is it c'erano instead of c'era?
C'erano is the imperfetto form of ci sono (there are), meaning there were. We use the plural c'erano because it refers to i videogiochi (multiple video games). If it were just one video game, you would use the singular c'era (there was).
Why is there an h in videogiochi?