L'imperfetto si usa per azioni accadute e terminate nel passato.

(The imperfect tense is used for actions that happened and were completed in the past.)

  1. The imperfect is used to describe the past, talk about a period of life, or habitual actions.
1a coniugazione: Verbo informare (1st conjugation: Verb informare)2a coniugazione: Verbo avere (2nd conjugation:)3a coniugazione: Verbo reagire (3rd conjugation: Verb reagire)
Io informavoIo avevoIo reagivo
Tu informaviTu aveviTu reagivi
Lui / lei informavaLui / lei avevaLui / lei reagiva
Noi informavamoNoi avevamoNoi reagivamo
Voi informavateVoi avevateVoi reagivate
Loro informavanoLoro avevanoLoro reagivano

Exercise 1: L'imperfetto: i verbi regolari

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

avevano, informavo, reagivamo, avevo, informava, reagivo, reagivi

1. Informare:
Io spesso ... i miei amici sulle novità TV.
(I often told my friends about the TV news.)
2. Avere:
Io ... il giornale ieri.
(I had the newspaper yesterday.)
3. Reagire:
Durante il programma, tu ... con molto interesse.
(During the programme, you reacted with great interest.)
4. Reagire:
Noi ... con sorpresa alle situazioni difficili.
(We reacted with surprise to difficult situations.)
5. Avere:
Loro ... le notizie migliori.
(They had the best news.)
6. Informare:
Ieri mentre ascoltavo il telegiornale, ... mia madre.
(Yesterday, while I was listening to the news, I was informing my mother.)
7. Informare:
Lui ... gli spettatori sui fatti importanti.
(He informed the viewers about important events.)
8. Reagire:
Quando guardavo la televisione, io ... sempre alle notizie.
(When I was watching television, I always reacted to the news.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence that uses the imperfect tense properly to describe past, habitual, or descriptive actions.

1.
The imperfect is not used to talk about future actions; 'tomorrow' requires a future tense.
'Yesterday I was playing' is correct only if the action was ongoing; however, the present perfect is often used for completed actions. Here, there is a lack of clarity between the tenses used.
2.
The use of the passato remoto 'listened' with 'while I was talking' creates an inappropriate temporal contrast.
The adverb 'yesterday' creates redundancy with the imperfect; it is preferable to avoid it in this sentence.
3.
Mistake in the use of verb tenses: 'I have' and 'had' do not combine together.
The imperfect 'had' is not used with specific time expressions like 'last night' without proper context.
4.
The adverb 'today' is not used with the imperfect, which indicates a past action.
Agreement error: 'important' should be plural because it refers to 'details'.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences using the imperfect to describe habitual actions or to talk about the past (example: Io informo → Io informavo).

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Ogni mattina io informo i clienti sulle novità del contratto.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Ogni mattina io informavo i clienti sulle novità del contratto.
    (Every morning I used to inform customers about contract updates.)
  2. Da giovane tu hai sempre molte responsabilità in ufficio.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Da giovane tu avevi sempre molte responsabilità in ufficio.
    (When you were young you always had many responsibilities in the office.)
  3. Quando il direttore arriva in ritardo, lui reagisce male alle critiche.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Quando il direttore arrivava in ritardo, lui reagiva male alle critiche.
    (When the director arrived late, he used to react badly to criticism.)
  4. Nel vecchio lavoro noi abbiamo spesso poche informazioni sui progetti.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Nel vecchio lavoro noi avevamo spesso poche informazioni sui progetti.
    (In the old job we often had little information about the projects.)
  5. Il lunedì voi informate i colleghi sui risultati della settimana.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Il lunedì voi informavate i colleghi sui risultati della settimana.
    (On Mondays you used to inform colleagues about the week's results.)
  6. Prima della crisi loro reagiscono sempre con calma ai problemi economici.
    ⇒ _______________________________________________ Example
    Prima della crisi loro reagivano sempre con calma ai problemi economici.
    (Before the crisis they always used to react calmly to economic problems.)

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Fabio Pirioni

Bachelor in Humanities

University of Udine

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Last Updated:

Sunday, 11/01/2026 12:09