Italian A2: How things were: the imperfetto · Phrases

The imperfetto describes the past: what used to happen, how things were, what was going on. Endings: -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano (parlavo); -evo (prendevo); -ivo (dormivo). essere is irregular: ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano. Da bambino giocavo sempre in giardino.

• da bambino — as a child
• ogni giorno — every day
• spesso — often
• una volta — once, in the old days
• giocare — to play
• ero — I was
• avevo — I had
• mentre — while

• Da piccolo abitavo a Napoli. — When I was little I lived in Naples.
• Che tempo faceva? — What was the weather like?
• Una volta qui c'era un cinema. — There used to be a cinema here.
• Mentre cucinavo, ascoltavo la radio. — While I was cooking, I listened to the radio.