Breakdown of Gli studenti hanno raccontato che il professore invecchiava bene.
lo studente
the student
gli
the
bene
well
il professore
professor
Questions & Answers about Gli studenti hanno raccontato che il professore invecchiava bene.
Why use the imperfetto (invecchiava) here instead of the present tense?
This is an example of indirect speech. Because the main verb (hanno raccontato) is in the past, we have to shift the tense of the reported quote backward. The students originally spoke in the present tense (il professore invecchia bene), so we shift the present tense to the imperfetto to show it was true at that moment in the past.
What would it mean if the sentence used the passato prossimo (è invecchiato) instead?
If you used è invecchiato, it would mean the aging happened entirely before they talked about it. Using the imperfetto (invecchiava) shows that the professor's good aging was an ongoing reality at the exact same time the students were recounting the story.
Why does the English translation say was aging instead of used to age?
The Italian imperfetto is very flexible and can translate to was doing or used to do depending on the context. Here, was aging fits perfectly because it describes an ongoing, continuous state in the past rather than a repeated habit.
How is the verb invecchiava formed?
It comes from the infinitive invecchiare (to age or to grow old). If you look closely, you can see the adjective vecchio (old) right in the middle of the verb!