Italian Imperfetto: How to Conjugate It (and When to Use It)
Vurbit Team
Language Expert
The imperfetto is one of the most important past tenses in Italian — and one of the most misunderstood for English speakers.
Use it for background, habits, descriptions, and ongoing actions in the past.
The imperfetto clicks fastest when you practice it in real sentences (not just charts). Try Vurbit’s Italian conjugation trainer on iOS to drill the patterns and spot your mistakes quickly.
What does the imperfetto mean?
Think of the imperfetto as “was doing / used to / would (habitually)” rather than a finished past action.
- Da bambino, giocavo a calcio ogni giorno. — As a kid, I used to play soccer every day.
- Era tardi e pioveva. — It was late and it was raining.
How to form the imperfetto (regular verbs)
Take the infinitive, remove -re, and add the imperfetto endings for the verb class:
- -are verbs → -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano
- -ere verbs → -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, -evate, -evano
- -ire verbs → -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivate, -ivano
Example: parlare (to speak) — imperfetto
| Verb Parlare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Verb | English meaning |
| Io | parlavo | I was speaking / I used to speak |
| Tu | parlavi | You were speaking / You used to speak |
| Lui/Lei | parlava | He/She was speaking |
| Noi | parlavamo | We were speaking |
| Voi | parlavate | You (pl.) were speaking |
| Loro | parlavano | They were speaking |
Example: prendere (to take) — imperfetto
| Verb Prendere | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Verb | English meaning |
| Io | prendevo | I was taking |
| Tu | prendevi | You were taking |
| Lui/Lei | prendeva | He/She was taking |
| Noi | prendevamo | We were taking |
| Voi | prendevate | You (pl.) were taking |
| Loro | prendevano | They were taking |
Example: dormire (to sleep) — imperfetto
| Verb Dormire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Verb | English meaning |
| Io | dormivo | I was sleeping |
| Tu | dormivi | You were sleeping |
| Lui/Lei | dormiva | He/She was sleeping |
| Noi | dormivamo | We were sleeping |
| Voi | dormivate | You (pl.) were sleeping |
| Loro | dormivano | They were sleeping |
Imperfetto vs passato prossimo (the core difference)
Italian often uses both tenses in the same story:
- Imperfetto sets the scene: what was going on.
- Passato prossimo is the event: what happened (completed).
Esempio:
- Pioveva (imperfetto) quando sono arrivato/a (passato prossimo). — It was raining when I arrived.
The most common imperfetto irregulars
Most verbs are regular in the imperfetto. The ones you’ll see constantly are these:
- essere → ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano
- fare → facevo, facevi, faceva, facevamo, facevate, facevano
- dire → dicevo, dicevi, diceva, dicevamo, dicevate, dicevano
Quick practice (copy/paste into your notes)
- Translate: “We used to go to the beach every summer.”
- Translate: “It was cold, and I was wearing a jacket.”
- Choose the right tense: Mentre (studiavo / ho studiato), mi hai chiamato.
If you want, practice the imperfetto on high-frequency verbs first (essere, fare, andare, avere) — then expand from there.