🎙 Welcome to  We learn Italian step by step  / Impariamo l’italiano piano piano

🎧 Episode 02 - Crafting the Past - The Imperfetto Part 2

The Pages of the Past – Le Pagine del Passato. 
 
Chapter 1 - The Ancient Library - La Biblioteca Antica – Part 1 - With English Translation

Mariella lived with her mother Anita in a small apartment near the Basilica di San Lorenzo, in the heart of Florence. 

Mariella viveva con la madre Anita in un piccolo appartamento vicino alla Basilica di San Lorenzo, nel cuore di Firenze.

The apartment was on the second floor of an old building with floors that creaked and pipes that groaned every time she turned on the tap. 

L’appartamento era al secondo piano di un vecchio edificio con pavimenti che scricchiolavano e tubi che gemevano ogni volta che apriva il rubinetto.

From her balcony, she could see the bustling piazza below and the grand Medici Chapels.

Dal suo balcone, poteva vedere la vivace piazza sottostante e le meravigliose Cappelle Medicee.

Each morning, Mariella left her apartment early to get to work at a small travel agency near the train station. 

Ogni mattina, Mariella usciva presto dal suo appartamento per andare a lavorare in una piccola agenzia di viaggi vicino alla stazione ferroviaria.

Her job was to answer phone calls, book tours, and respond to endless emails from tourists asking about Florence. 

Il suo lavoro consisteva nel rispondere alle telefonate, prenotare tour e rispondere a un’infinità di email di turisti che chiedevano informazioni su Firenze.

“I studied art history for this?” she often thought. 

“E’ per questo che ho studiato storia dell’arte?” pensava spesso.

 Introduction

Hello and welcome back to episode 2, of Impariamo l'italiano piano piano - Un impegno quotidiano, where we are continuing our exploration of the imperfetto - one of the most fascinating and useful tenses in Italian. In our last episode, we talked about the three key purposes of this tense: describing background details, talking about habits or repeated actions, and expressing ongoing actions in the past. 

To bring these concepts to life, we just listened to the opening of our story "Le Pagine del Passato (The Pages of the Past), Chapter 1 – The Ancient Library (Capitolo Uno – La Biblioteca Antica), Part One, this time with both Italian and English translations. 

Those first few melodious passages from Chapter 1, gave us a perfect glimpse of the imperfetto in action, painting a vivid picture of the life of our protagonist, Mariella, in her creaky apartment and her repetitive job as a travel agent in the city of Florence. Now that you’ve heard the imperfetto in action, it’s time to take a look at how it is formed, so you can start creating your own rich descriptions and bringing your Italian stories to life.

Antonio: E che storie meravigliose possono essere! 
(And what wonderful stories they can be!)

Myra: Eh sì, Antonio... But before we continue, can I ask you, dear listener, for one small favor? If you’re enjoying this podcast, take a second to hit ‘Follow’ or ‘Subscribe’ in your podcast app. It’s free, and it ensures you won’t miss any future episodes.

And if you’d like to support the podcast in a more meaningful way, you can also click ‘Support the Show’ in the episode description. That way, for the price of a cup of coffee each month, you’ll be helping me to create more episodes like this one.

Antonio: Seguire è gratuito, ma sostenere il podcast è un gesto di vero apprezzamento.

Myra: Well, that’s one way to put it. Following is free, but supporting the podcast is a true gesture of appreciation.

Not to mention that members receive access to bonus episodes packed with contextual vocabulary, engaging active recall exercises, quick-fire quizzes, and early access to interactive flashcards designed to prepare you for upcoming content.

Antonio: Ah… l’imperfetto. Il tempo dei racconti, dei ricordi… 
(Ah… the imperfect. The tense of stories, of memories…)

Myra (lightly): Sono felice che tu la pensi così, Antonio. 
(I’m glad you think so, Antonio.)

Antonio: Certo! Un tempo verbale elegante, musicale… quasi poetico! 
(Of course! An elegant, musical tense… almost poetic!)

The ease of use of the Italian Imperfetto Tense

As I mentioned in Episode 1, the conjugation of the Italian imperfetto tense is straightforward and consistent. What am I talking about? Well….

•             No Irregular Stems (Mostly):

Most verbs in the imperfetto follow a regular pattern, with very few irregular verbs (essere is the main exception). We will be covering the conjugation of essere in the imperfetto in a future podcast.

•             Single Set of Endings:

The endings for the imperfetto are consistent across all three conjugations (-are, -ere, -ire). 

•             No Auxiliary Verbs Needed:

Unlike compound tenses (e.g., passato prossimo), the imperfetto doesn’t require an auxiliary verb (essere or avere), making it simpler to use.

•             No Stem Changes or Spelling Adjustments:

In the imperfetto, there are no vowel or consonant changes in the verb stem, unlike some other tenses.

•             Logical and Predictable Use:

The imperfetto is used in clearly defined contexts (e.g., descriptions, habits, ongoing actions in the past), so you can spot when to use it more easily.

How is it formed?

Easy peasy. 

Antonio: Facile, dice lei! Ma la bellezza dell’imperfetto merita rispetto e contemplazione profonda

(Easy, she says! But the beauty of the imperfect deserves respect and deep contemplation)

Myra: That’s right Tony, the imperfetto deserves respect, contemplation, and… how about actually learning how to use it?

Antonio: Antonio, per favore!

Myra: Fine. rispetto, contemplazione, and how about actually learning how to use it, Antonio?

Antonio: Meglio.

Myra: Comunque, Here’s what we need to do: Take the infinitive of the verb and remove the ending  -re, leaving the stem.

Yes you heard me correctly. It’s not the are, ere or ire ending that you remove.  Instead you will remove the -re ending only, leaving the a the e and the i right where they were.

Then, you simply add the endings, which are the same for all conjugations:

Imperfetto Regular Verb Endings:

For all three conjugations (-are, -ere, -ire), the endings are the same:

•             -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano

Antonio: Niente di più semplice! Facile come bere un bicchiere d’acqua!
(Nothing simpler! As easy as drinking a glass of water!)

Myra: Easy as drinking a glass of water. That’s right, and a nice reminder of this well known Italian idiom. However, I’m thinking I may need something a little bit stronger after all this!

Antonio: Un buon vino rosso, magari? Un po’ scuro e ricco, come la vita... e come certi uomini italiani.
(A good red wine, perhaps? A little dark and rich, like life... and like certain Italian men.)

Myra: a good glass of wine, dark and rich like some Italian men? Antonio! Just what are you suggesting?

Antonio: Ehm... Io parlavo solo del vino, ovviamente. Solo del vino!

Myra: Yes of course. Tu parlavi solo del vino , which brings us back to the conjugation of the imperfetto.

Ma un attimo! Hold on a minute!  Even though this podcast is principally for learners at a B1 or B2 level, we just might have some listeners who have not conjugated Italian verbs yet, so let’s just take a step back for a moment and talk about how we do that. 

When you are conjugating a verb in Italian, we have 6 persons to deal with:

Antonio: Semplice! Sei persone, sei possibilità… sei meravigliose sfumature della lingua italiana.
(Simple! Six people, six possibilities… six wonderful nuances of the Italian language.)

Myra: Sfumature?

Antonio: Sì, Myra! Sfumature—le sottili differenze che danno colore e profondità alla lingua!
(Yes, Myra! Nuances—the subtle differences that give color and depth to language!)

Myra: Ah, I see, like nuance. OK so here are six nuances in the Italian language, beginning with:

I - Io

you informal - tu

he/she - lui/lei

And the second 3 persons, the plural of the first three:

we – noi

you all or you guys – voi

they - loro

pop quiz – We mentioned that the informal you singular is ‘tu’. What about if it’s formal? In other words you’re talking to your professor, your soon to be inlaws, the shop keeper who you don’t know. Instead of ‘tu’ you would use, ‘Lei’. What if it is a man? We still use ‘Lei’ to address them. So speaking about a person, he or she, he is ‘lui’ and she is ‘lei’. But when speaking directly to a person, informally you would use ‘tu’, but formally, the professor, the shopkeeper, your new  inlaw, ‘Lei’.

Antonio: E non dimenticate! Quando si scrive Lei in modo formale, la ‘L’ deve essere maiuscola—sempre
(And don't forget! When writing Lei formally, the 'L' must be capitalized—always)

Myra: Ah, good point yes. we must keep in mind that with the written word, when you are addressing someone formally, you need to capitalize the L in Lei.

Antonio: Lei

Myra: Lei

Antonio Lei

Myra: So here’s how it (the imperfetto) works for each type of verb.

Antonio: Uffa! Dai, continua.

1.           -ARE verbs (e.g., parlare):

Remove -re from the infinitive to get the stem: parla-

Add the endings:

Io vo, 

tu vi

lui/ley va 

noi vamo

voi vate

loro vano

And we have, Io parlavo, tu parlavi, lui/lei parlava, noi parlavamo, voi parlavate, loro parlavano

Example:

I used to talk to my grandmother every evening.

Parlavo con mia nonna ogni sera.

2.           -ERE verbs (e.g., leggere):

Remove -re to get the stem: legge-

Add the endings:

Io leggevo, tu leggevi, lui/lei leggeva, noi leggevamo, voi leggevate, loro leggevano

Example:

We used to read books in my grandmother’s library.

Leggevamo libri nella biblioteca di mia nonna.

3.           -IRE verbs (e.g., dormire):

Remove -re to get the stem: dormi-

Add the endings:

Io dormivo, tu dormivi, lui/lei dormiva, noi dormivamo, voi dormivate, loro dormivano

Example:

I used to sleep by the fireplace during the winter.

Antonio: Dormivo durante questa lezione.

Myra: Right.

Dormivo accanto al camino durante l’inverno.

Antonio: Ehi, ma non avevi detto che questo podcast non sarebbe stato pieno di noiose esercitazioni di grammatica?
(Hey, didn’t you say this podcast wasn’t going to be full of boring grammar drills?)

Myra: Per favore,… lasciami finire.
(Antonio… just let me get through this, please.)

Myra: You might be noticing that I’m translating the imperfetto in various ways. In English we have the past continuous or progressive tense. For example, I was walking to the park. This is similar to the imperfetto because it is a continuous action in the past. I might say, I used to walk in the park every day. This is similar to the imperfetto because it is describing a habitual, repeated past action. I might use the simple past tense with contextual clues like, “I walked to the park every day when I was younger.” And again, in Italian, this would likely be expressed using the imperfetto, “Andavo al parco ogni giorno quando ero giovane”. 

The key difference between the English and the Italian here, is that the Italian imperfetto is a specific tense with its own conjugations, used consistently for descriptions, habits, and ongoing past actions, while English relies on various structures to convey those same meanings. 

Antonio: Non hai ancora finito?
(Haven’t you finished yet?)

Myra: Quasi.
(Almost.)

Imperfetto Practice Exercise:

Here are 5  very common and regular verbs from the first chapter of our story. I’ll say the English. See if you can come up with the infinitive of the verb in Italian.

(To test yourself, you may wish to cover the answers on the right and see if you can come up with these verbs)

1.           To live -                                           Abitare 

2.           To work -                                        Lavorare 

3.           To see -                                          Vedere 

4.           To stroll -                                       Passeggiare 

5.           To prepare -                                 Preparare 

Assignment #1 Conjugation: 

Before listening to the next episode, I have a little workout for you.  When you have a moment, take a pen and paper and conjugate these 5 verbs in the imperfetto.  

If you do this brain exercise before listening to the answers, you will get much more out of this podast. I promise.

Antonio: Ah, una bella sfida! Ma ricorda, Myra, non tutti sono pronti per una maratona verbale.
(Ah, quite a challenge! But remember, Myra, not everyone is ready for a verbal marathon.)

Myra: So when you say bella sfida, you don’t mean a beautiful challenge really do you? You mean a big challenge. I’m only asking them to conjugate a few verbs.

Antonio: D’accordo, d’accordo... forse una maratona è troppo. Ma sicuramente una corsa veloce, e magari una bella salita!
(Okay, okay...maybe a marathon is too much. But definitely a fast run, and maybe a nice climb!)

Myra: A good climb, yes, ma ne vale la pena, But it will be worth it.

Quindi, if you need a reminder of what the five verbs are, you can find them in the transcript for this podcast.  Then we’ll review the answers together in the next episode. 

But right now, how about we listen in on the next part of Chapter One of The Pages of the Past – Le Pagine del Passato? 

Assignment #2 – Comprehension Questions

As you listen to this section of the story, try to listen out for the answers to these 3 questions. The answers to the questions are found at the end of the transcript for this episode.
      
 1. What kind of job does Mariella dream of having?

2. What does Mariella wonder about the old library?

3. How did Mariella’s grandmother influence her career aspirations?

Just a quick heads up: if you’d like access to the bonus episode that gently walks you through the vocabulary for this part of the story—complete with active recall exercises, short quizzes, and early access to interactive flashcards—you can get it by supporting the podcast. Just click “Support the Show” in the episode description. It only takes a moment, and your support makes a big difference.

We pick up here where Mariella is having some doubts about her routine life and dreaming of something more.

Antonio: Piano piano? (slowly?)

Myra: Yes, piano piano, per favore, nice and slow, at least the first time.

The Pages of the Past – Le Pagine del Passato. 

Chapter 1 - The Ancient Library - La Biblioteca Antica – Part 2 - Italian Only

Antonio: Sognava un lavoro in cui potesse condividere il suo amore per la cultura e la storia di Firenze, ma invece passava la maggior parte del tempo davanti a un computer, risolvendo i problemi degli altri.

Spesso, durante la pausa pranzo, passeggiava per le strade di Firenze, sbirciando nei grandi cortili attraverso i cancelli decorati, immaginando come sarebbe stato vivere in un posto così magnifico. 

Sua madre Anita, che lavorava come infermiera all’ospedale locale, le diceva sempre di continuare a sognare in grande. 

"I tuoi sogni si realizzeranno un giorno," diceva con un sorriso pieno di significato che Mariella non ha mai capito del tutto.

Il sabato mattina Mariella prendeva la bicicletta per andare nel suo bar preferito a bere un cappuccino e a fare una pausa dall’ufficio.

Il percorso la portava sempre davanti a un vecchio edificio con finestre alte e polverose.

Un tempo era stato un monastero, poi preso dai Medici e trasformato in una biblioteca dove sua nonna aveva lavorato, un luogo che Mariella ricordava pieno di luce, storie e di odore di libri.

Ora era vuoto, e Mariella non poteva fare a meno di chiedersi che fine avessero fatto tutti quei libri che sua nonna aveva passato tanto tempo a catalogare, ordinare e persino riparare.

La biblioteca era stata chiusa circa cinque anni prima e  sua nonna era mancata da poco.

Da bambina, Mariella aveva passato ore e ore lì con sua nonna Maria, che si era offerta volontaria per leggere storie ai bambini.

“Un giorno vorrei avere un lavoro che mi soddisfi come quello di nonna Maria,” pensava spesso Mariella. “Qualcosa che renda felici le persone.”

Myra: Qualcosa che renda felici le persone. Something that makes people happy. It’s my hope that you, dear listeners are happy with this podcast. If you are, please remember to click subscribe or follow on your podcast app to assist me in continuing to make this podcast happen.

So what did you pick up on in this second part of our first chapter? Were you able to answer the three questions? How about one more listen, then see if you can pick up a little bit more of the details.

Assignment #3 - Identify the 3 uses of the Imperfetto

And this time, see if you can identify the 3 uses of the imperfetto in this text. Do you remember what they were:

1)           Describing Background Details

2)           Talking About Habits or Repeated Actions

3)           Ongoing Actions in the Past

Antonio: E adesso... la versione normale.
(And now… the regular version.)

***replay Chapter 1 – Part 2 ***

Myra: I’ll share the English translation of this part of the story, in our next podcast episode. In the meantime, good luck with your assignment, or as the Italians would say, Into the mouth of the wolf – In bocca a lupo! 

Antonio: Crepi il lupo
    (May the wolf die!) 

Myra? What was that?

Antonio: Cosa?
   (What?) 

Myra: Did you say something?

Antonio: Ah, sì, ho detto 'Crepi il lupo!
(Ah, yes, I said 'May the wolf die!') 

Myra: OK so I guess, if the wolf dies, you don’t get swallowed whole. Italians and their idioms!

Antonio: Hai detto quelcosa?
   (Did you say something?) 

Myra: Niente.  (Nothing.) 
   How would you like to wrap this up and  let our ascoltatori know how learning happens?

Antonio: L'apprendimento avviene piano piano!
    (Learning happens step by step!) 

Together:  Ci vediamo, alla prossima!
    (See you, until next time!) 

As promised here are the answers to the 3 content questions:

1. What kind of job does Mariella dream of having?
Mariella dreams of a job where she can share her love for the culture and history of Florence. However, in reality, she spends most of her time in front of a computer solving other people's problems.

2. What does Mariella wonder about the old library?
Mariella wonders what happened to all the books that her grandmother had spent so much time cataloging, organizing, and repairing, since the library had been closed for about five years.

3. How did Mariella’s grandmother influence her career aspirations?
Mariella’s grandmother, Maria, worked in the library and volunteered to read stories to children. Seeing how much her grandmother loved her work, Mariella often thought, “Un giorno vorrei avere un lavoro che mi soddisfi come quello di nonna Maria,” expressing her wish to have a fulfilling job that makes people happy.

📘 Grammar Spotlight – Episode 02 Crafting the Past - The Imperfetto Part 2

While most of the vocabulary was introduced in your previous bonus episode, this installment features grammatical forms in action that learners may not immediately recognize. Below is a breakdown of the noteworthy grammar used outside the vocabulary list, focusing on form, function, and why it’s used that way.

🌟 Key Verb Tenses and Moods in Context

🔸 Imperfetto (Imperfect Tense)

Used extensively throughout the story to describe background settings, habits, and ongoing actions in the past.

Examples:

• viveva – she was living / used to live
  → Mariella viveva con la madre…
• scricchiolavano – they were creaking
  → pavimenti che scricchiolavano
• gemevano – they were groaning
  → tubi che gemevano
• usciva – she used to go out
  → Ogni mattina, Mariella usciva presto…
• pensava – she often thought
  → “Pensava spesso”
• passeggiava – she used to stroll
  → durante la pausa pranzo, passeggiava per le strade…

Why It’s Used:
These all reflect past habits, ongoing actions, or background descriptions, the classic uses of the imperfetto. Learners should be able to spot the -va, -vamo, -vano endings now!

🔹 Congiuntivo Presente (Present Subjunctive)

Used to express desires, uncertainty, subjectivity—especially after verbs like sognare, volere, pensare, and qualcosa che... This tense will be covered in detail in future episodes.

Examples:

• possa condividere – that she may share
  → un lavoro in cui potesse condividere…
  (Here, it’s actually congiuntivo imperfetto because of a past-tense verb before it—see below)
• soddisfi – that satisfies
  → un lavoro che mi soddisfi
• renda – that makes
  → qualcosa che renda felici le persone

Quick Note:
These appear in dependent clauses triggered by expressions of desire or emotion.

🔸 Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Yes! Here’s a new friend—used after verbs in the past when you're expressing subjectivity or a hypothetical. This tense will be covered in detail in future episodes.

Example:

• potesse condividere – that she could share
  → Sognava un lavoro in cui potesse condividere il suo amore…
  (She dreamed of a job in which she could share…)

Why It’s Used:
Triggered by sognava (a verb in the past), so the subjunctive verb also shifts into past tense → congiuntivo imperfetto.

🔹 Futuro Semplice (Future Simple)

Used to describe future actions or hopes. This tense will be covered in detail in future episodes.

Examples:

• si realizzeranno – they will come true
  → I tuoi sogni si realizzeranno un giorno.

Quick Reminder:

• Realizzeranno comes from realizzare (to realize, to bring about)
• This is 3rd person plural future

🧭 Verb Phrases and Idiomatic Constructions

🔸 fare volontariato
→ to volunteer
Used instead of offerta volontaria (which is less idiomatic).

• si era offerta volontaria = she volunteered herself (past participle, reflexive use)

🔸 chiedersi – to wonder / ask oneself
→ non poteva fare a meno di chiedersi…
= she couldn’t help but wonder...

🔸 che fine avessero fatto… – what happened to...

• A great idiomatic structure:
   
  • che fine ha fatto X? → What happened to X?
•  
  • In this case: che fine avessero fatto i libri = What had happened to the books
•  
  • Congiuntivo trapassato – Advanced grammar tucked gently into narrative!
•  

🗣️ Pronoun & Agreement Notes

🔹 le diceva sempre

• le = to her (indirect object)
• diceva = he/she used to say
  → “Her mother always used to say to her…”

🔹 con un sorriso pieno di significato

• pieno di significato = full of meaning
• This type of phrase pairs well with emotion-based expressions

🐺 Fun Idiomatic Phrases

🔸 In bocca al lupo!

• Literally: “Into the mouth of the wolf!”
• Meaning: “Good luck!” (Like “Break a leg!” in English)
• The response: Crepi il lupo! → “May the wolf die!”

✨ Bonus Vocabulary That Reinforces Grammar Points

Here are a few vocabulary words used in a grammatically interesting way:

Word                     Grammatical Note

catalogare: Infinitive verb, used with passato prossimo and storytelling actions
ordinare: Infinitive, but contrasts with ordine (order) noun
vuoto: Adjective agreeing in gender/number: vuoto, vuota
decorati:| Past participle used as adjective (agrees in number/gender)
finestre alte: Adjective alte must match feminine plural noun finestre