Lesson Transcript

Let's look at the sentence pattern.
Do you remember how the character said,
"When I was a child, I lived in Milan and often ate cutlet."
Quando ero bambino, vivevo a Milano e mangiavo spesso la cotoletta.
Quando ero bambino, vivevo a Milano e mangiavo spesso la cotoletta.
This sentence follows the pattern here:
Quando + [imperfect sentence 1], [imperfect sentence 2]
"When + [imperfect sentence 1], [imperfect sentence 2]"
This first pattern is used to show a past situation or background action, introduced with "quando," followed by another action that was also ongoing or habitual in the past.
It is especially helpful for setting the scene in storytelling.
For example, in the sentence:
Quando ero bambino, vivevo a Milano e mangiavo spesso la cotoletta.
"When I was a child, I lived in Milan and often ate cutlet."
The word quando means "when" and introduces the time frame.
ero is the first-person singular of essere in the imperfetto, meaning "I was."
bambino means "child," so ero bambino means "I was a child."
vivevo is the first-person singular of vivere in the imperfetto, meaning "I lived."
a Milano means "in Milan," indicating where the speaker lived.
mangiavo is the first-person singular of mangiare in the imperfetto, meaning "I used to eat."
spesso means "often," describing the frequency of the action.
la cotoletta means "the cutlet" — it's the thing the speaker used to eat.
So the full sentence means: "When I was a child, I lived in Milan and often ate cutlet."
Io invece mangiavo molta pasta da bambino.
"I, on the other hand, used to eat a lot of pasta as a child."
Io means "I" — the subject of the sentence.
invece means "instead" or "on the other hand," showing contrast with what was said before.
mangiavo is the first-person singular of mangiare in the imperfetto, meaning "I used to eat."
molta means "a lot" or "much."
pasta means "pasta" — the object of the verb mangiavo.
da bambino means "as a child."
da is a preposition meaning "as" in this context, and bambino means "child."
So the full sentence means: "I, on the other hand, used to eat a lot of pasta as a child."
This sentence follows the pattern:
Da [noun or adjective] + [verb in the imperfect]
It shows a role or identity in the past and a habitual action that went with it.
Now you know how to use the imperfetto to describe past experiences, repeated actions, and situations in Italian!
Now let's look at some speaking examples.
Quando ero piccolo, giocavo sempre nel parco.
"When I was little, I always played in the park."
Let's break it down:
Quando ero piccolo, meaning "When I was little,"
followed by
giocavo, the imperfect tense of the verb giocare, meaning "I used to play,"
next
sempre nel parco, meaning "always in the park."
This sentence follows the pattern Quando + [imperfect sentence], [imperfect sentence, just like our focus line.
It sets the scene with a past timeframe and shows a repeated or habitual action, which is exactly what the imperfetto tense is used for.
Here's another example
Da bambino, guardavo i cartoni ogni mattina.
"As a child, I watched cartoons every morning."
Da bambino, guardavo i cartoni ogni mattina.
"As a child, I watched cartoons every morning."
Let's try one more,
Quando pioveva, leggevo un libro a casa.
"When it rained, I used to read a book at home."
Quando pioveva, leggevo un libro a casa.
"When it rained, I used to read a book at home."
Another one.
Da studente, prendevo l'autobus ogni giorno.
"As a student, I took the bus every day."
Da studente, prendevo l'autobus ogni giorno.
"As a student, I took the bus every day."
One last example.
Quando abitavo in Italia, mangiavo spesso la pizza.
"When I lived in Italy, I often ate pizza."
Quando abitavo in Italia, mangiavo spesso la pizza.
"When I lived in Italy, I often ate pizza."

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