Italian B1: Passato prossimo or imperfetto? · Words

The passato prossimo tells what happened, a finished event: Ieri ho visto Luca. The imperfetto sets the scene: background, habits, states, what was going on. Together: Mentre camminavo (the scene), ho incontrato Luca (the event). Some verbs change meaning: sapevo (I knew), ho saputo (I found out); conoscevo (I knew someone), ho conosciuto (I met someone).

• all'improvviso — suddenly
• incontrare — to meet (by chance)
• succedere — to happen
• ricordarsi — to remember
• conoscere — to know (a person)
• sapere — to know (a fact)
• già — already
• raccontare — to tell (a story)

• Cosa è successo? — What happened?
• Mentre tornavo a casa, ho incontrato Luca. — While I was going home, I ran into Luca.
• Non lo sapevo. — I didn’t know.
• Ti ricordi quella volta al mare? — Do you remember that time at the seaside?