Day 16 Premium

Talking about the past — imperfetto. imperfetto

Day 14 gave you the passato prossimo for things that happened once. Today's tense — the imperfetto — is for how things were: habits, descriptions, weather, age, and the background of a story. 'Quando ero piccolo, abitavo a Delhi' (when I was little, I lived in Delhi). You'll learn its endings, when to choose it over passato prossimo, the handful of irregulars, and how to narrate a memory.

Estimated time25 minutesGoalDescribe habits, background and how things were using the imperfetto
Day 16 · 4 focused lessons

Your four lessons today

  1. Imperfetto — the endings

    Drop -re and add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. The most regular tense in Italian — the same endings for -are, -ere and -ire verbs.

    Start lesson 18–10 min
    Imperfetto — the endings
  2. Imperfetto vs passato9–11 min
  3. When I was young8–10 min
  4. Telling a story9–11 min
India bridge

Hindi marks the same habit-vs-once difference

Roz / hamesha (every day / always) feel like the imperfetto — a repeated habit. Kal / ek baar (yesterday / once) feel like the passato prossimo — a single event. When you describe growing up in India, lean on the imperfetto: 'abitavo, andavo, mangiavamo' — it maps almost exactly onto 'main rehta tha / jaata tha'.

Next upDay 17 — Your daily life: reflexive verbs