Describing Past Habits in Italian - Exercises

Practice conjugating verbs in the imperfect tense

Lesson Transcript

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Remember, we are practicing the imperfect. Ready?

Mia sorella (pause with a tap of the finger) a scuola in autobus.

andava

Mia sorella andava a scuola in autobus.

"My sister used to go to school by bus."

We use andava in this sentence because it's the 3rd person singular form of the verb andare in the imperfetto, and the subject mia sorella refers to "she" — describing a past habit.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

uno studente dell'università.

Ero

Ero uno studente dell'università.

"I was a university student."

We use ero in this sentence because it's the 1st person singular form of the irregular verb essere in the imperfetto, used to describe a past state about oneself — "I was."

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

Dieci anni fa non (pause with a tap of the finger) gli occhiali.

avevo

Dieci anni fa non avevo gli occhiali.

"Ten years ago, I didn't have glasses."

We use avevo in this sentence because it's the 1st person singular form of avere in the imperfetto, used to describe something the speaker didn't have in the past — "I didn't have."

Unscramble the words to make a sentence.

Ready?

Dieci

Dieci anni

Dieci anni fa

Dieci anni fa Emily

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva i

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva i capelli

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva i capelli corti.

"Ten years ago Emily had short hair."

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva i capelli corti.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Remember, we are practicing the imperfect. Ready?

Quando ero una studentessa, (avevano or avevo) molti amici.

avevo

Quando ero una studentessa, avevo molti amici.

"When I was a student, I had many friends."

Avevo is used here because it is the 1st person singular of avere in the imperfetto, and the subject is "I" (a female speaker saying "quando ero una studentessa"), describing something she had in the past.

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence. Ready?

I miei compagni di classe (erano or eravamo) molto simpatici.

erano

I miei compagni di classe erano molto simpatici.

"My classmates were very nice."

Erano is used here because it is the 3rd person plural form of essere in the imperfetto, matching the subject i miei compagni di classe (they) to describe how they were in the past.

Let's translate some sentences into Italian.

Translate "Every Saturday I used to go to the movies with them." into Italian.

Ogni sabato, meaning "every Saturday,"

followed by

andavo, the imperfect tense of the verb andare, meaning "I used to go,"

al cinema, meaning "to the movies,"

followed by

con loro, meaning "with them."

Andavo is used here because it is the 1st person singular form of andare in the imperfetto, describing a repeated action the speaker did in the past — "I used to go."

Ogni sabato andavo al cinema con loro.

"Every Saturday I used to go to the movies with them."

Translate " When I was 17, I was in Italy." into Italian.

Quando, meaning "when,"

followed by

avevo, the imperfect tense of the verb avere, meaning "I had" (used for age),

17 anni, meaning "17 years old,"

followed by

ero, the imperfect tense of the verb essere, meaning "I was,"

in Italia, meaning "in Italy."

Avevo is used here because it is the 1st person singular form of avere in the imperfetto, showing the speaker's age in the past.

And ero is used here because it is the 1st person singular form of essere, indicating a past state — "I was in Italy."

Quando avevo 17 anni, ero in Italia.

" When I was 17, I was in Italy."

Translate " Ten years ago, I was 28 years old." into Italian.

Dieci anni fa, meaning "ten years ago,"

followed by

avevo, the imperfect tense of the verb avere, meaning "I had" (used for age),

ventotto anni, meaning "28 years old."

Avevo is used here because it is the 1st person singular form of avere in the imperfetto, and it's used to describe how old the speaker was in the past.

Dieci anni fa, avevo ventotto anni.

"Ten years ago, I was 28 years old."

Listen to me as I speak. Which imperfect verb is used in the sentences?

Mia sorella andava a scuola in autobus.

Let's listen one more time.

Mia sorella andava a scuola in autobus.

Did you hear, andava?

Andava, meaning "used to go," is the 3rd person singular form of andare in the imperfetto, and is used before the subject "Mia sorella" ("she") when describing a past habit.

How about...

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva i capelli corti.

Let's listen one more time.

Dieci anni fa Emily aveva i capelli corti.

Did you hear, aveva?

Aveva, meaning "used to have," is the 3rd person singular form of avere in the imperfetto, used before the subject Emily, referring to a past state.

Next…

I miei compagni di classe erano molto simpatici.

One more time.

I miei compagni di classe erano molto simpatici.

Did you hear, erano?

Erano, meaning "they were," is the 3rd person plural form of essere in the imperfetto, used before a plural subject — my classmates.

And...

Dieci anni fa, avevo ventotto anni.

One more time.

Dieci anni fa, avevo ventotto anni.

Did you hear, avevo?

Avevo, meaning "I had," is the 1st person singular form of avere in the imperfetto, used before the subject "I" to describe a past condition.

Thank you for watching.

Now you know how to use the imperfetto to describe how things were in the past: habits, age, feelings, and ongoing situations in Italian.

...and now you can move on to the next lesson in the pathway.

A presto!

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