March 26

Conjugate Italian Verbs: Imperfect tense

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Conjugating regular Italian verbs in the imperfect tense

Italian verbs are difficult
Italian verbs are difficult

The imperfect tense can actually be used in a few different ways. The examples below illustrate how it is used to show what was happening in the past. Example, I was reading a book when… .We will cover other uses of the imperfect tense in class. The imperfect tense is also relatively easy to learn. In essence all three conjugations have very similar endings. The only difference between the endings for each conjugation (ARE, ERE and IRE) is the first letter the endings start with. For instance all of the endings for ARE verbs start with “a”, endings for ERE verbs start with “e” and the endings for the IRE verbs start with “i”. This is illustrated below.

To illustrate how to conjugate these verbs, I like to use math equations as an example but first here are the conjugated endings for all regular verbs;

Subject PronounIo
Tu
Lui/Lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
Verbs ending in AREavo
avi
ava
avamo
avate
avano
Verbs ending in EREevo
evi
eva
evamo
evate
evano
Verbs ending in IREivo
ivi
iva
ivamo
ivate
ivano

To conjugate the regular ARE verbs in the imperfect tense = infinitive verb – infinitive ending = verb stem + conjugated ending = conjugated verb. Example;
Parlare (To Speak) – are = Parl + avamo (ending for we) = Parlavamo (We were speaking)

Parlare conjugated in the imperfect tense

Io
Tu
Lui/Lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
Parlavo
Parlavi
Parlava
Parlavamo
Parlavate
Parlavano
I was speaking
You were speaking
He/She/It was speaking
We were speaking
Y’all were speaking
They were speaking

To conjugate the regular ERE verbs in the imperfect tense = infinitive verb – infinitive ending = verb stem + conjugated ending = conjugated verb. Example;
Leggere (To Read) – ere = Legg + evamo (ending for we) = Leggevamo (We were reading)

Leggere conjugated in the imperfect tense

Io
Tu
Lui/Lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
Leggevo
Leggevi
Leggeva
Leggevamo
Leggevate
Leggevano
I was reading
You were reading
He/She/It was reading
We were reading
Y’all were reading
They were reading

To conjugate the regular IRE verbs in the imperfect tense = infinitive verb – infinitive ending = verb stem + conjugated ending = conjugated verb. Example;
Vestire (To Dress) – ire = Vest + ivamo (ending for we) = Vestivamo (We were dressing)

Vestire conjugated in the imperfect tense

Io
Tu
Lui/Lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
Vestivo
Vestivi
Vestiva
Vestivamo
Vestivate
Vestivano
I was dressing
You were dressing
He/She/It was dressing
We were dressing
Y’all were dressing
They were dressing

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About Learn Italian Manchester: My name is Amedea and I’m a native Italian tutor with a real passion for my language. I run Italian classes in Manchester which are sociable, fun and designed to teach you Italian you will really use. As well as Italian courses in Manchester I teach 1 to 1 Italian lessons and cover areas including Manchester City Centre,Didsbury, Chorlton, Sale, Altrincham, Hale, Woodford, Bramhall and others. I also run Italian cookery classes: fresh pasta, Italian vegetarian food, cookery classes for busy people, Italian style cocktail masterclasses and more. If you would like to do something new, learn to speak Italian and make new friends along the way! Contact me at: hello@learnitalianmanchester.co.uk


Tags

Italian impferect verbs, Italian verbs, Verbs in Italian


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