The imperfetto is the second major past tense in Italian, and it fills a role that English often handles with "used to," "was doing," or simple past — which is exactly why it can feel slippery at first. Where the passato prossimo zooms in on completed, finished actions (Ieri ho mangiato una pizza — Yesterday I ate a pizza), the imperfetto describes ongoing, habitual, or background states in the past (Da bambino mangiavo sempre la pizza il venerdì — As a kid I always ate pizza on Fridays). It paints the backdrop of a scene rather than punctuating it with single events.
The conjugation is beautifully regular. For -are verbs, add -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano (parlavo, parlavi, parlava...). For -ere verbs, add -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, -evate, -evano (prendevo, prendevi, prendeva...). For -ire verbs, add -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivate, -ivano (dormivo, dormivi, dormiva...). Almost every verb is regular in the imperfetto — a rare gift in Italian — with only a handful of exceptions like essere (ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano), fare (facevo, facevi...), dire (dicevo, dicevi...), and bere (bevevo, bevevi...). These irregular stems come from Latin roots and are worth memorizing early because they show up constantly.
You use the imperfetto for repeated past habits (Ogni estate andavamo al mare — Every summer we went to the seaside), past descriptions (Era una giornata bellissima — It was a beautiful day), age and time in the past (Avevo dieci anni — I was ten years old, Erano le otto — It was eight o'clock), emotional or physical states (Ero stanca — I was tired, Avevo fame — I was hungry), and ongoing past actions in progress, often setting the stage for something else (Mentre leggevo, è suonato il telefono — While I was reading, the phone rang). The imperfetto pairs frequently with the passato prossimo, with each tense doing a different job in the same sentence.
The imperfetto also has a polite use in modern Italian: in shops and restaurants, Italians sometimes use it instead of the conditional to soften requests (Volevo un caffè is a common alternative to Vorrei un caffè). It also carries a nostalgic, storytelling flavor — think of how English uses "was" in fairy tales (C'era una volta — Once upon a time). This makes it the tense of memory and childhood narration, perfect for expressions like Da bambino and A quei tempi. The exercises below will drill the conjugation across all three verb families and the key irregulars, plus the typical contexts in which Italians reach for this tense. It's a big step toward storytelling fluency and a natural setup for the passato prossimo vs. imperfetto contrast that comes next.
The imperfetto (imperfect tense) is a past tense used to describe actions, states, or situations that were ongoing, repeated, or habitual in the past. Unlike the passato prossimo (which expresses completed, specific events), the imperfetto paints a picture of what things were like or what used to happen. Think of it as the 'past background' tense — it sets the scene rather than moving the story forward.
Use the imperfetto for: 1. Habits and repeated actions in the past (what you used to do): 'Da bambino, guardavo sempre i cartoni animati.' (As a child, I always used to watch cartoons.) 2. Ongoing or background actions (what was happening): 'Leggevo un libro quando hai chiamato.' (I was reading a book when you called.) 3. Descriptions in the past (how things looked, felt, or were): 'Il cielo era azzurro e faceva caldo.' (The sky was blue and it was hot.) 4. States of being, feelings, and mental states: 'Avevo fame e non sapevo cosa fare.' (I was hungry and didn't know what to do.)
| Person | -ARE (parlare) | -ERE (leggere) | -IRE (dormire) |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | parlavo | leggevo | dormivo |
| tu | parlavi | leggevi | dormivi |
| lui/lei | parlava | leggeva | dormiva |
| noi | parlavamo | leggevamo | dormivamo |
| voi | parlavate | leggevate | dormivate |
| loro | parlavano | leggevano | dormivano |
To form the imperfetto, take the infinitive, remove the final -re, and add the imperfetto endings. The stem is the infinitive minus -re: - parlare → parla- → parlavo, parlavi, parlava, parlavamo, parlavate, parlavano - leggere → legge- → leggevo, leggevi, leggeva, leggevamo, leggevate, leggevano - dormire → dormi- → dormivo, dormivi, dormiva, dormivamo, dormivate, dormivano Notice that -are verbs use -avo/-avi/-ava/-avamo/-avate/-avano, -ere verbs use -evo/-evi/-eva/-evamo/-evate/-evano, and -ire verbs use -ivo/-ivi/-iva/-ivamo/-ivate/-ivano.
| Person | essere (to be) | fare (to do/make) | bere (to drink) | dire (to say) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | ero | facevo | bevevo | dicevo |
| tu | eri | facevi | bevevi | dicevi |
| lui/lei | era | faceva | beveva | diceva |
| noi | eravamo | facevamo | bevevamo | dicevamo |
| voi | eravate | facevate | bevevate | dicevate |
| loro | erano | facevano | bevevano | dicevano |
Most verbs are regular in the imperfetto, but a few important verbs are irregular: - essere: completely irregular (ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano) - fare: uses the old Latin stem 'face-' → facevo, facevi, faceva... - bere: uses the old stem 'beve-' → bevevo, bevevi, beveva... - dire: uses the old stem 'dice-' → dicevo, dicevi, diceva... Note that fare, bere, and dire are irregular only in their stem — they still use the regular imperfetto endings (-evo, -evi, -eva, etc.).
The imperfetto and passato prossimo are often used together. The imperfetto describes what was happening or the background situation, while the passato prossimo describes the specific event that occurred. Example: 'Leggevo (imperfetto — ongoing) un libro quando Giovanni è entrato (passato prossimo — completed event).' (I was reading a book when Giovanni came in.) Time expressions that signal repetition or habit (sempre, spesso, di solito, ogni giorno) go with the imperfetto. Specific times or single events (ieri, l'anno scorso, una volta sola) often go with the passato prossimo.
10 exercises · 0 completed
Regular -ARE Verbs: io, tu, lui/lei Forms
10 questions
Regular -ARE Verbs: noi, voi, loro Forms
10 questions
Full Paradigm of PARLARE
10 questions
Habits in the Past with -ARE Verbs
10 questions
Descriptions in the Past with -ARE Verbs
10 questions
Choose the Correct -ARE Imperfetto Form
10 questions
Mixed -ARE Verbs in Context
10 questions
Identify the Correct Tense: Imperfetto vs Other Forms
10 questions
Choose the Correct Person Ending for -ARE Verbs
10 questions
Review: Regular -ARE Verbs in the Imperfetto
10 questions
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Regular -ERE Verbs: leggere, scrivere, credere, vendere
10 questions
Regular -IRE Verbs: dormire, capire, finire, sentire
10 questions
-ERE Verbs in Context
10 questions
-IRE Verbs in Context
10 questions
Full Paradigm of LEGGERE
10 questions
Full Paradigm of DORMIRE
10 questions
Mixed -ERE and -IRE Verbs
10 questions
Choose the Correct Ending: -evo vs -ivo
10 questions
Descriptions with -ERE and -IRE Verbs
10 questions
Review: Regular -ERE and -IRE Verbs in the Imperfetto
10 questions
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Irregular: ESSERE in the Imperfetto
10 questions
ESSERE in Sentences: Childhood and Past Descriptions
10 questions
Irregular: FARE in the Imperfetto
10 questions
FARE in Sentences
10 questions
Irregular: BERE in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Irregular: DIRE in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Mixed Irregular Verbs: essere, fare, bere, dire
10 questions
Choose the Correct Irregular vs Regular Form
10 questions
Sentences with Irregular Imperfetto
10 questions
Review: Irregular Verbs in the Imperfetto
10 questions
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Habits: sempre, di solito, spesso, ogni giorno
10 questions
Background Descriptions: era, c'era, faceva freddo/caldo
10 questions
Habit Sentences with Time Expressions
10 questions
Description Sentences in the Past
10 questions
Ongoing Action: mentre + Imperfetto
10 questions
Mentre Sentences
10 questions
States of Being: avere fame/sete/paura, sapere, conoscere, credere
10 questions
State Verbs in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Choose the Imperfetto for the Correct Context
10 questions
Review: Uses and Time Expressions with the Imperfetto
10 questions
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Mixed Verb Types in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Mixed Sentences: All Verb Types
10 questions
Negation in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Negative Sentences in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Questions in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Question and Answer Pairs in the Imperfetto
10 questions
Childhood Memories: Da bambino/a, io…
10 questions
Childhood Description Paragraph
10 questions
Comprehensive Review
10 questions
Final Mixed Review
10 questions
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Drop the infinitive ending (-are, -ere, -ire) and add the endings -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. Example: parlare → parlavo, parlavi, parlava, parlavamo, parlavate, parlavano.
Use the imperfetto for repeated or habitual actions in the past (andavo a scuola ogni giorno), descriptions (la casa era grande, faceva caldo), ongoing background actions, age, time, and weather in the past.
Imperfetto describes ongoing, habitual, or background past actions. Passato prossimo describes completed, specific past events. "Leggevo quando è squillato il telefono" — I was reading (imperfetto, background) when the phone rang (passato prossimo, event).
A2 Topics