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The Italian imperfect tense: conjugation and usage

In Brief
  • Formation: The Italian imperfect is formed according to 3 verb groups (-are, -ere, -ire) with specific endings
  • Usage: Expresses habitual, durative actions or descriptions in the past
  • Regularity: Most verbs follow regular conjugation rules
  • Auxiliaries: Essere and avere have particular conjugations to memorise
  • Irregularities: A few verbs have irregular forms but remain predictable
The Italian imperfect (imperfetto) allows you to express past actions that had a certain duration or were repeated. This verb form proves indispensable for recounting childhood memories or describing habitual situations in the past.

Understanding the Italian imperfect and its uses

The Italian imperfect corresponds to the French imperfect but also covers certain uses of the French passé composé. It mainly expresses three types of situations: Habitual actions in the past: Ogni mattina andavo a scuola a piedi (Every morning I went to school on foot). This sentence describes a habit repeated over time. Durative actions without precision about their end: Maria studiava quando è arrivato Paolo (Maria was studying when Paolo arrived). The action of studying was in progress. Descriptions of states or circumstances: La casa era grande e luminosa (The house was big and bright). This sentence describes the permanent state of the house. The Italian imperfect is formed by removing the infinitive ending (-are, -ere, -ire) and adding the specific endings for each group.

First group verbs ending in -are

Verbs ending in -are form the most numerous group in Italian. To conjugate these verbs in the imperfect, simply remove -are and add the following endings:
Person Ending Example with “parlare”
io -avo parlavo (I was speaking)
tu -avi parlavi (you were speaking)
lui/lei -ava parlava (he/she was speaking)
noi -avamo parlavamo (we were speaking)
voi -avate parlavate (you were speaking)
loro -avano parlavano (they were speaking)
Let’s take the example of the verb camminare (to walk) in a complete sentence: Quando ero bambino, camminavo sempre con mio nonno nel parco (When I was a child, I always walked with my grandfather in the park). The verb guardare (to watch) follows the same rule: Mia sorella guardava la televisione ogni sera (My sister watched television every evening). This construction expresses a habit repeated in the past. Other common examples with -are verbs: cantare (to sing) gives cantavo, cantavi, cantava…; lavorare (to work) becomes lavoravo, lavoravi, lavorava…

Second group verbs ending in -ere

Second group verbs end in -ere in the infinitive. Their conjugation in the imperfect follows a regular pattern with the following endings:
Person Ending Example with “credere”
io -evo credevo (I believed)
tu -evi credevi (you believed)
lui/lei -eva credeva (he/she believed)
noi -evamo credevamo (we believed)
voi -evate credevate (you believed)
loro -evano credevano (they believed)
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The verb leggere (to read) perfectly illustrates this conjugation: Marco leggeva sempre prima di dormire (Marco always read before sleeping). This sentence describes a daily habit. With scrivere (to write): Durante l’estate, scrivevo lettere ai miei amici (During the summer, I wrote letters to my friends). The action was repeated regularly during a given period. The verb prendere (to take) gives: Ogni mattina prendevamo l’autobus alle otto (Every morning we took the bus at eight o’clock). This construction expresses an established routine.

Third group verbs ending in -ire

The third group includes verbs ending in -ire. All these verbs, whether they belong to the “finire” subgroup or the “partire” one, follow the same endings in the imperfect:
Person Ending Example with “sentire”
io -ivo sentivo (I felt/heard)
tu -ivi sentivi (you felt/heard)
lui/lei -iva sentiva (he/she felt/heard)
noi -ivamo sentivamo (we felt/heard)
voi -ivate sentivate (you felt/heard)
loro -ivano sentivano (they felt/heard)
The verb dormire (to sleep) is used like this: Da bambino dormivo sempre con il mio orsacchiotto (As a child, I always slept with my teddy bear). This sentence evokes a childhood memory. With partire (to leave): I treni partivano sempre in orario negli anni sessanta (Trains always left on time in the sixties). This sentence describes a general situation from the past. The verb finire (to finish) gives: Le lezioni finivano alle quattro del pomeriggio (Lessons finished at four o’clock in the afternoon). This construction indicates a habitual timetable.

The auxiliaries to be and to have

The two Italian auxiliaries have particular conjugations that must be memorised as they are also used in numerous common expressions. Essere (to be) in the imperfect:
Person Conjugation Translation
io ero I was
tu eri you were
lui/lei era he/she was
noi eravamo we were
voi eravate you were
loro erano they were
Example with essere: Quando ero piccolo, la mia casa era vicino al mare (When I was little, my house was near the sea). Avere (to have) in the imperfect:
Person Conjugation Translation
io avevo I had
tu avevi you had
lui/lei aveva he/she had
noi avevamo we had
voi avevate you had
loro avevano they had
Example with avere: Mia nonna aveva sempre caramelle nella borsa (My grandmother always had sweets in her bag).

Irregular verbs in the imperfect

Unlike other tenses, the Italian imperfect has very few truly irregular verbs. Most verbs considered irregular in the present become regular again in the imperfect.
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Fare (to do/make) is the main irregular verb. Its conjugation is based on the old stem “face-“: io facevo (I did/made), tu facevi (you did/made), lui/lei faceva (he/she did/made), noi facevamo (we did/made), voi facevate (you did/made), loro facevano (they did/made). Example: Da bambini facevamo sempre merenda nel pomeriggio (As children, we always had an afternoon snack). Bere (to drink) uses the stem “beve-” derived from Latin: io bevevo (I drank), tu bevevi (you drank), lui/lei beveva (he/she drank), noi bevevamo (we drank), voi bevevate (you drank), loro bevevano (they drank). Example: Mio padre beveva sempre un caffè dopo cena (My father always drank a coffee after dinner). Dire (to say) is conjugated on the stem “dice-“: io dicevo (I said), tu dicevi (you said), lui/lei diceva (he/she said), noi dicevamo (we said), voi dicevate (you said), loro dicevano (they said). Example: La maestra diceva sempre di studiare con attenzione (The teacher always said to study carefully). Other verbs like tradurre (to translate), condurre (to conduct) or produrre (to produce) follow the same principle by using their Latin stem: traducevo, conducevo, producevo…

Practical exercise

Test your knowledge of the Italian imperfect:
Question 1: How do you conjugate “parlare” (to speak) in the 1st person singular in the imperfect?
Verbs ending in -are take the ending -avo in the 1st person singular of the imperfect.
Question 2: What is the correct form of “credere” (to believe) in the 3rd person plural?
Verbs ending in -ere take the ending -evano in the 3rd person plural of the imperfect.
Question 3: How do you say “we were finishing” in Italian?
Verbs ending in -ire take the ending -ivamo in the 1st person plural of the imperfect.
Question 4: What is the correct conjugation of “essere” (to be) in the 2nd person singular?
The auxiliary “essere” gives “eri” in the 2nd person singular of the imperfect.
Question 5: How do you conjugate “fare” (to do/make) in the 3rd person singular in the imperfect?
“Fare” is irregular and uses the stem “face-“: faceva in the 3rd person singular.
Question 6: Which sentence expresses a habitual action in the past?
The imperfect with “sempre” (always) expresses a habit repeated in the past.