# Imperfetto - examples



## Alxmrphi

Ok, so first propper time i am doing this, Imperfect tense is for past, and hopefully i remember the rules, it is used for:

1) an action in the past that doesnt have an end
2) something repeated in the past (every Saturday etc)
3) used for time/age/weather/believe/feelings

so here i go attempting to form some sentances..

*ogni sabato parlavo la mia nonna sopra il telefono*
Every saturday i used to speak to my nan on the telephone.

*quando guidavo avevo il fragore.*
When i was driving, i had a crash. [how do you say "i crashed" i cant find out how to say it]
- i also know that sentance is 99.999% wrong, in "what italians would say" but is it the same principle? as in *guidavo* means "was driving" and i had to use *avevo il fragore* to mean "had a crash" and they both have to be in the imperfect tense or is it just guidavo ?

And last one..

ill do one about weather, so i will attempt to write "it was raining last week"

it was raining last week - i think i need to conjugate essere in the imperfect tense, screw it ill go to verbix... ok *era*, and last is l'ultima.. so
the full line probably isnt but this is all i got..

*era piove l'ultima settimana.*
it was raining last week..

Where did i go wrong?


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## lsp

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> Ok, so first *proper* time i am doing this...
> 
> so here i go attempting to form some *sentences*...
> 
> - i also know that *sentence* is 99.999% wrong, in "what italians would say" but is it the same principle? as in *guidavo* means "was driving" and i had to use *avevo il fragole* *(fragole = strawberries, what dictionary are you using?!! ) *to mean "had a crash" and they both have to be in the imperfect tense or is it just guidavo ?...
> 
> Where did i go wrong?


To help the Italians who learn English from us, I made some necessary edits to your question in *GREEN. *It would be nice to think about that when you type, considering how much more difficult it would be _for you_ if the Italian responses had misspelled words that threw _you_ of track, no?


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## Alxmrphi

hahaha, i cant believe i did that..

i meant *fragore*!


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## shamblesuk

A 'car crash' would be 'un incidente d'auto'


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## Alxmrphi

I saw that, but i wanted to say "i crashed into a tree" and using car crash would work with that, at least i dont think so.


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## BklynGiovanna

Alex, I think you came up with some good examples of sentences to help with the imperfect tense.  I often have some of the same problems using it as you do.  

Since noone has attempted to answer your initial questions yet, I'll take a stab at one of them.

I'm assuming that you are trying to translate:
 "I was driving and had a car accident."
For the first verb, I would use the imperfect because the action (WAS DRIVING) happened over a period of time.  I would use the past participle on the second verb because the accident happened at one specific time.

I would say, "Guidavo e ho fatto un incidente".  I would leave off the end of shamblesuk's definintion of car accident (incidente *d'auto*) because I feel that the accident implied is a car accident because I already said I was driving.  (But I guess a literal translation would include the "d'auto".)

I might also add the word "while" to the beginning of the sentence:
While I was driving, I had a car accident.
Mentre guidavo ho fatto un incidente.  It seems to flow better that way in Italian.

Anyway, I'm sure I have said too much and, hopefully, my suggestions will be analyzed by a native!  Because I want to get all this straight once and for all!!


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## Alxmrphi

You have no idea how much that made the imperfect click more for me, the whole concept of "continuous action in the past" didnt make sense, until your reply, when it just means something that doesnt happen immediatly, like *sleeping/reading/writing* are continuous in the past but, *falling/slapping/sneezing* arent really??? is this right?

- 
What about the "it was raining last week" is that a good translation?

- 
Last Q: "ho fatto" - howcome you used fatto? as past participle of to 'do/to make' - i tried thinking about it and it comes out as possibly:

- i did/done
- i made

and i couldnt have "did/done/made a car accident"..

i would look at it as "had" so past tense of avere conjugated in the imperfect, and i would get *avevo*, oh yeah thats what i put..
basically..
*
howcome "ho fatto" instead of "avevo" was used?* 


And once i understand that, and if the weather thing is right, and the continuous/not continuous actions of the past are correct, i can be a happy bunny again.
Thanx for the post, i love it when stuff clicks.


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## shamblesuk

The driving (guardavo) was the _continuous action_, but the accident (ho fatto) was not. It was not continuous, else you would be _driving_ while _having_ an accident.


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## Alxmrphi

aha!! uyayayay!!! ok that totally made sense, but needs clarification of my guess in your PM box..

what about the other questions i asked??? if they are right i could die happy now.


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## ElaineG

"ho fatto un incidente" doesn't sound like idiomatic Italian to me; I prefer "ho avuto un incidente."

What do the native speakers say?


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## Alxmrphi

ElaineG said:
			
		

> "ho fatto un incidente" doesn't sound like idiomatic Italian to me; I prefer "ho avuto un incidente."
> 
> What do the native speakers say?



if that works that is good, but would that work though? because i am using imperfect? and that is simple past isnt it?


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## ElaineG

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> if that works that is good, but would that work though? because i am using imperfect? and that is simple past isnt it?


 
No, you would use the simple past for the accident.  "Mentre guidavo, ho avuto un incidente."

My question is: can you say "ho fatto un incidente"? It sounds bad to me.


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## Alxmrphi

Im not experienced enough to notice stuff like that, so Imperfect is only used for some verbs? its not used for whole phrases if its used once in there, because that is what i assumed.

Guidavo, imperfect
ho avuto, simple past

same sentance, thats good, that solves a lot of mess in my head of making other verbs in the same phrase all the same tense, but if it is restricted to relavent verbs, i can see myself understanding it more..

Elaine, i will actually send you MONEY in the post if you answer these questions, i think they appear invisible to everyone else..

"the whole concept of "continuous action in the past" didnt make sense, until your reply, when it just means something that doesnt happen immediatly, like *sleeping/reading/writing* are continuous in the past but, *falling/slapping/sneezing* arent really??? is this right?"

??

"And last one..

 ill do one about weather, so i will attempt to write "it was raining last week"

 it was raining last week - i think i need to conjugate essere in the imperfect tense, screw it ill go to verbix... ok *era*, and  last is l'ultima.. so
 the full line probably isnt but this is all i got..

*era piove l'ultima settimana.*
 it was raining last week..  " 

??


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## ElaineG

> Im not experienced enough to notice stuff like that, so Imperfect is only used for some verbs? its not used for whole phrases if its used once in there, because that is what i assumed.


 
No, to the contrary, often in a single sentence, you use the imperfect to describe the on-going action and the passato prossimo to show something that happened during that time.  Any verb that I can think of could be either imperfect or passato prossimo depending on what you need it for.

E.g., Mentre dormivo, il telefono ha suonato.



> the whole concept of "continuous action in the past" didnt make sense, until your reply, when it just means something that doesnt happen immediatly, like *sleeping/reading/writing* are continuous in the past but, *falling/slapping/sneezing* arent really??? is this right?"


 
No:  L'anno scorso starnutivo tutto l'inverno.  Quando ero piccola, mia madre mi dava le botte ogni giorno.  (SORRY MOM: Just an example, so not true!)

You need to read a grammar book and do some excercises on this.  If this is your first Romance language it's going to take a while.



> *era piove l'ultima settimana.*


 
here, you're talking about a completed defined action, so I'd say "ha piovuto la settimana scorsa"  but the right conjugation imperfect would, in any case, be "pioveva".


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## Alxmrphi

*"ha piovuto la settimana scorsa"
  in any case, be "pioveva".*

- what one, my books says Imperfect is used to describe weather, but this isnt imperfect -> *"ha piovuto la settimana scorsa".*

******

* " L'anno scorso starnutivo tutto l'inverno. Quando ero piccola, mia madre mi dava le botte ogni giorno."*

 Last year i sneezed all winter. When i was little, my mother gave me a bottle every day.

- Are these examples of uses of when to use the Imperfect?

and last of all..

*"Mentre dormivo, il telefono ha suonato."*

Isnt this a closed past action, the phone rung, it made a noise and stopped, its not an ongoing action, that confused me.

*"If this is your first Romance language it's going to take a while."*

 - i know! its horrible.


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## ElaineG

> *ha piovuto la settimana scorsa"
> in any case, be "pioveva".
> 
> *- what one, my books says Imperfect is used to describe weather, but this isnt imperfect -> *"ha piovuto la settimana scorsa".*


 
Well, I disagree with your book.  The imperfect isn't always used to describe the weather, if you are talking about a particular time period.  But what I was trying to show you was that you had invented a wierd way of conjugating the verb piovere.



> *" L'anno scorso starnutivo tutto l'inverno. Quando ero piccola, mia madre mi dava le botte ogni giorno."
> 
> *Last year i sneezed all winter. When i was little, my mother  slapped me every day.
> 
> - Are these examples of uses of when to use the Imperfect?


 
I was just trying to demonstrate that your theory that sneezing and slapping couldn't be in the imperfect is in correct.  Both of my examples are instances of when to use the imperfect with those actions.

*



"Mentre dormivo, il telefono ha suonato."

Isnt this a closed past action, the phone rung, it made a noise and stopped, its not an ongoing action, that confused me.
		
Click to expand...

 
Exactly.  That's why suonare is in the passato prossimo.  That example was to illustrate one way to use the imperfect and the passato prossimo in the same sentence, and to respond to your theory that an entire sentence would have to be in the imperfect if you used it once.

Anyway, we're going in circles here.  I suggest that you study the grammar with books and CDs and whatever else you can get your hands on.*


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## moodywop

ElaineG said:
			
		

> "ho fatto un incidente" doesn't sound like idiomatic Italian to me; I prefer "ho avuto un incidente."
> 
> What do the native speakers say?


 
Elaine

This is what one of the top Italian professors of Linguistics had to say in reply to a query in "Corriere della Sera":

*Tra "avere" e "fare" …* 
E' errato dire ho "fatto" un incubo invece di ho "avuto" un incubo? Stesso quesito per la parola "incidente": si può dire "fare un incidente", invece di "avere un incidente"? 
_"Fare un incubo" ( un incidente)" è forma familiare del più corretto "avere un incubo (un incidente)"._ 

Oddly enough I got completely differents results from a Google search for "avere" vs "fare" and "avuto" vs "fatto":

_avere un incidente *764 *_vs _fare un incidente* 926*_

_avuto un incidente *35,500 *_vs _fatto un incidente *18,800*_

Now can anyone find a logical explanation for these results?


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## Alxmrphi

Yes i am, and the confusion i get i am asking about here, please!! dont refer me back to the books, that wont help, i need inventive examples i create and if something i think up is correct, i know ive got it sorted, but reading and understanding and accepting, isnt the same.

About the slapping/sneezing thing, i never said it couldnt be in the imperfect, i dont think i explained that well, what i meant was, those are examples of "sudden" past instances, while the others are "continuous past actions"?



> Well, I disagree with your book.



This is exactly why i need human and not paper help! i hope i am not annoying you, well, i know i am, what i mean to say is i dont mean to, and im sorry, but i just wish so much i will get it right.. and hope you can understand.

Thanks


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## ElaineG

moodywop said:
			
		

> Oddly enough I got completely differents results from a Google search for "avere" vs "fare" and "avuto" vs "fatto":
> 
> _avere un incidente *764 *_vs _fare un incidente* 926*_
> 
> _avuto un incidente *35,500 *_vs _fatto un incidente *18,800*_
> 
> Now can anyone find a logical explanation for these results?


 
No, especially because when I searched just now, I got different numbers:


"avere un incidente"=982 v. "fare un incidente"=1,080

"avuto un incidente"=35,000 v. "fatto un incidente"=9,250 

This mess just illustrates why we need each other, not just databases.


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## moodywop

ElaineG said:
			
		

> No, especially because when I searched just now, I got different numbers:
> 
> 
> "avere un incidente"=982 v. "fare un incidente"=1,080
> 
> "avuto un incidente"=35,000 v. "fatto un incidente"=9,250
> 
> This mess just illustrates why we need each other, not just databases.


 
Actually, the professor's reply to the query in _Corriere della Sera _surprised me. I'm referring to his putting _fare un incubo _on a par with _fare un incidente. Fare un incidente _is definitely more "familiare", as he says, but it's also widely used, maybe more so in my part of Italy. However I would never say "ho fatto un incubo". It actually sounds wrong to me. I would always say "ho avuto un incubo". I wonder whether regional differences are involved. Che ne dicono gli altri italiani?


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## Alxmrphi

"Che ne dicono gli altri italiani?"

What do the other Italian's say?


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## shamblesuk

Perfect minus the rogue apostrophe.



			
				Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> "Che ne dicono gli altri italiani?"
> 
> What do the other Italian ' s say?


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## angelabonora

*Ricapitolando:*
*ogni sabato parlavo *con*  mia nonna *al *telefono
*Every saturday i used to speak to my nan on the telephone.

*Mentre guidavo ho avuto un incidente*
When i was driving, i had a crash.  is all i got..

*pioveva l'altra settimana.*
it was raining last week..


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## angelabonora

ElaineG said:
			
		

> "ho fatto un incidente" doesn't sound like idiomatic Italian to me; I prefer "ho avuto un incidente."
> 
> What do the native speakers say?


"ho causato un incidente"
"ho avuto (subito) un incidente"
two different means


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## angelabonora

moodywop said:
			
		

> Elaine
> 
> This is what one of the top Italian professors of Linguistics had to say in reply to a query in "Corriere della Sera":
> 
> *Tra "avere" e "fare" …*
> E' errato dire ho "fatto" un incubo invece di ho "avuto" un incubo? Stesso quesito per la parola "incidente": si può dire "fare un incidente", invece di "avere un incidente"?
> _"Fare un incubo" ( un incidente)" è forma familiare del più corretto "avere un incubo (un incidente)"._
> 
> Oddly enough I got completely differents results from a Google search for "avere" vs "fare" and "avuto" vs "fatto":
> 
> _avere un incidente *764 *_vs _fare un incidente* 926*_
> 
> _avuto un incidente *35,500 *_vs _fatto un incidente *18,800*_
> 
> Now can anyone find a logical explanation for these results?


 
L'incubo si *subisce* e quindi "*ho avuto* un incubo" (familiare? "ho fatto un incubo"? no dialettale)
L'incidente si può *causare *o *subire*, quindi
nel primo caso " *ho fatto* un incidente" (fare ->azione)
nel secondo "*ho avuto* un incidente"

Perhaps it's better use no only _avere _e _fare_, but other verbs: Oxford Italian Dictionary has a lot of information.


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## Alxmrphi

angelabonora said:
			
		

> *Ricapitolando:*
> *ogni sabato parlavo *con*  mia nonna *al *telefono
> *Every saturday i used to speak to my nan on the telephone.
> 
> *Mentre guidavo ho avuto un incidente*
> When i was driving, i had a crash.  is all i got..
> 
> *pioveva l'altra settimana.*
> it was raining last week..



Thanx, i didnt realise that piovere was a verb, because i was reading a phrase book and it said how to say "it's raining" - and i just thought it was a word until i saw piovere.. and even then i am a bit confused, because it cant really make sense to act like any other verb, piovo "i rain" - etc?

But yes, those corrections helped a lot! i think i nearly fully get it now.


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## imaginedarius

*(Essere)______mezzogiorno quando Giuseppe (arrivare)________.* 

Which form of the verbs in parantheses would you use and would you use the imperfect or past perfect?


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## papi

Era mezzogiorno quando Giuseppe arrivò

Laura


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## imaginedarius

Why imperfect, is it not a specific time (at mid day that Giuseppe is coming) so wouldn't you use past perfect?


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## papi

I don't know exactly, but when we tell what time was in the past, we never use past perfect:
Era mezzogiorno 
Erano le quattro e mezza
Era l'una

Non diremmo mai: fu mezzogiorno, furono le quattro e mezza, fu l'una.

Laura

PS: Sorry, I used historical past (preterite - passato remoto), instead of past perfect:
Era mezzogiorno quando Giuseppe è arrivato.
Anyway, the rule of imperfect with time in the past still remain, so we don't say: era stato mezzogiorno, erano state le quattro e mezza ecc.

But, you can use past perfect or preterite with time if you change the construction:
Era mezzogiorno quando Giuseppe è arrivato --> It was noon when Giuseppe arrived
E' stato a mezzogiorno che Giuseppe è arrivato. --> It was at noon that Giuseppe arrived

Hope this helps....


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## imaginedarius

*Quel giorno i ragazzi (pagare)____ il conto?*

What form of the verb would you use here and would it be imperfect or past perfect? Please explain! Grazie mille!



> *Mod Note: *Please remember to put the original sentence in your post. Thanks.


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## brian

How about you give this one a try? Do you have any ideas?


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## imaginedarius

i think it would be hanno pagato, because it is past perfect? Is this right?


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## underhouse

imaginedarius said:


> i think it would be hanno pagato, because it is past perfect? Is this right?


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## brian

Yep, good job.  To use "pagavano" would mean that they were constantly paying the bill, as if it were a continuous process. "Imperfect" means "without end," in other words it is used for actions that do not have a clear ending point.


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## sam1978

"Hanno pagato" is right, but it can also be: "Pagarono".


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## imaginedarius

*(Essere)___ mercoledi 14. Carla (uscire)___ per andare all banca.*

Here we would say e' stato and e' uscita, right? Grazie.


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## papi

imaginedarius said:


> Here we would say e' stato and e' uscita, right? Grazie.


 
As for the time... you have to use imperfect with dates: 

Era mercoledì 14. Carla è uscita per andare alla banca (o meglio: in banca)


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## imaginedarius

Io non (potere)_____fare i compiti. I think potevo because not a specific time, right? Grazie!


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## brian

For some reason I think both "potevo" and "ho potuto" could work here (with slightly different meanings).

_Non ho potuto fare i compiti = I couldn't do the homework _(maybe I didn't get the chance..)

_Non potevo fare i compiti = I wasn't able to do the homework_

I can't really explain it well. Better wait for the natives.


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## gabrigabri

papi said:


> I don't know exactly, but when we tell what time was in the past, we never use past perfect:
> Era mezzogiorno
> Erano le quattro e mezza
> Era l'una
> 
> Non diremmo mai: fu mezzogiorno, furono le quattro e mezza, fu l'una.
> 
> Laura



As Laura said, we always say "erano le 11, etc". I don't know why either  
And also: Era estate

But we can also say: sono state le (ore) 11 più difficili della mia vita. It is just a moment. 
E' stata l'estate più bella della mia vita.





brian8733 said:


> For some reason I think both "potevo" and "ho potuto" could work here (with slightly different meanings).
> 
> _Non ho potuto fare i compiti = I couldn't do the homework _(maybe I didn't get the chance..)
> 
> _Non potevo fare i compiti = I wasn't able to do the homework_
> 
> I can't really explain it well. Better wait for the natives.



They're both ok, but "non ho potuto is better".

You could say: non potevo fare i compiti perché bla bla bla.
If your write onyl "non potevo fare i compiti" without anything befor or after, it is not 100% ok (maybe 98%)


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## gabrigabri

Alex_Murphy said:


> * " L'anno scorso starnutivo tutto l'inverno. Quando ero piccola, mia madre mi dava le botte ogni giorno."*




Sorry, but it is not ok.

L'anno scorso ho starnutito tutto l'nverno.

Da piccola passavo tutto l'inverno a starnutire.
Starnutivo ogni volta che piangevo.


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## giovannino

brian8733 said:


> For some reason I think both "potevo" and "ho potuto" could work here (with slightly different meanings).
> 
> _Non ho potuto fare i compiti = I couldn't do the homework _(maybe I didn't get the chance..)
> 
> _Non potevo fare i compiti = I wasn't able to do the homework_


 
Gabri is right. "Non potevo fare i compiti" sounds odd as a standalone sentence whereas "non ho potuto fare i compiti" doesn't.

I'll try to provide some context:

Single instance:

_Ieri non ho potuto fare i compiti. Ho dovuto accompagnare mamma in ospedale_

Extended period with precise time reference:

_L'anno scorso mi sono slogato il polso. Non ho potuto fare i compiti per tre mesi_

However, if the precise time reference to the period of time is removed, the imperfect is used:

_L'anno scorso mi sono slogato il polso. E' stato terribile. Non potevo fare nulla: (non potevo) andare in moto, (non potevo) fare i compiti etc_

Maybe it's not only the time reference that makes a difference but the different emphasis: with "non ho potuto" the emphasis is on not achieving something, with "non potevo" on a state/condition that made it impossible for you to do something.
However the imperfect is clearly incompatible with a precise reference to a time period: _non potevo fare i compiti per tre mesi_ 
On the other hand that doesn't seem to apply if the imperfect is used as a substitute for the past conditional:

_Non potevi (= saresti potuto) restare per un altro mese?_


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