Did you hear the news?
Hai sentito le notizie?
- Discuss what you saw on television or heard on the radio.
- Time expressions for recent events.
- Get to know the popular media stations in your host country.
- The imperfect tense: regular verbs
- The Imperfect: irregular verbs
This lesson focuses on the imperfetto tense, covering both regular (e.g., guardavo, facevo) and irregular verbs (e.g., dicevo, ero) used to describe past ongoing actions and reactions to news events.
Vocabulary (16) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Le notizie
The news
2
Il programma
The programme
3
I media
The media
4
Il report
The report
5
Preoccupato
Worried
Esercizio 2: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- Describe what happened on the news. (Describe what happened on the news.)
- Describe the different media types you see. (Describe the different media types you see.)
- Do you read or watch the news regularly? (Do you read or watch the news regularly?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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A Lussemburgo, il governo ha avuto un incontro. Una donna ha tenuto un discorso. In Luxembourg, the government had a meeting. A woman gave a speech. |
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C'è stata una grande protesta a Parigi. Autobus e auto non potevano più circolare. There was a big protest in Paris. Busses and cars could not drive anmore. |
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Vedo brevi video e immagini sulle notizie sui social media. I see short videos and pictures about the news on social media. |
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Vedo le notizie in televisione. I see the news on the television. |
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Ho letto le notizie su un sito web. I read the news on a website. |
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Guardo il telegiornale ogni sera. I watch the news every night. |
| ... |
Exercise 3: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 4: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Ieri __________ il telegiornale mentre il presentatore spiegava la situazione politica.
(Yesterday I __________ the newscast while the presenter was explaining the political situation.)2. Mentre __________ sugli eventi recenti, lui diceva sempre la verità.
(While __________ about recent events, he always told the truth.)3. Quando era giovane, mia madre __________ con calma alle notizie preoccupanti.
(When she was young, my mother __________ calmly to worrying news.)4. Tu __________ sempre una chiamata dopo aver letto il giornale della mattina.
(You __________ always made a call after reading the morning newspaper.)Exercise 5: Did you hear the news?
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Guardare - Watch
Imperfetto
- Io guardavo
- Tu guardavi
- Lui/lei guardava
- Noi guardavamo
- Voi guardavate
- Loro guardavano
Succedere - Happen
Passato prossimo
- Io sono successo/a
- Tu sei successo/a
- Lui/lei è successo/a
- Noi siamo successi/e
- Voi siete successi/e
- Loro sono successi/e
Dire - Say
Imperfetto
- Io dicevo
- Tu dicevi
- Lui/lei diceva
- Noi dicevamo
- Voi dicevate
- Loro dicevano
Avere - Have
Imperfetto
- Io avevo
- Tu avevi
- Lui/lei aveva
- Noi avevamo
- Voi avevate
- Loro avevano
Fare - Make
Imperfetto
- Io facevo
- Tu facevi
- Lui/lei faceva
- Noi facevamo
- Voi facevate
- Loro facevano
Reagire - React
Imperfetto
- Io reagivo
- Tu reagivi
- Lui/lei reagiva
- Noi reagivamo
- Voi reagivate
- Loro reagivano
Essere - Be
Imperfetto
- Io ero
- Tu eri
- Lui/lei era
- Noi eravamo
- Voi eravate
- Loro erano
Exercise 6: L'imperfetto: i verbi regolari
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The imperfect tense: regular verbs
Show translation Show answersreagivamo, informavo, informava, avevo, avevano, reagivo, reagivi
Exercise 7: L'imperfetto: i verbi irregolari
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The Imperfect: irregular verbs
Show translation Show answerseravamo, facevate, ero, facevi, diceva, facevo, dicevano, era
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Informare to inform Share Copied!
Imperfetto
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) informavo | I was informing |
| (tu) informavi | you were informing |
| (lui/lei) informava | he/she informed |
| (noi) informavamo | we informed |
| (voi) informavate | You were informing |
| (loro) informavano | they were informing |
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Understanding the Imperfetto Tense in Italian: Regular and Irregular Verbs
This lesson focuses on the Italian imperfect tense (l'imperfetto), a past tense used to describe ongoing or habitual actions, settings, and descriptions in the past. You will learn how to conjugate both regular and irregular verbs in the imperfect, and apply them in everyday conversations, such as discussing news seen on TV or heard on the radio.
What is the Imperfetto?
The imperfect tense expresses actions or states that were ongoing, repeated, or habitual in the past. It is often used to describe:
- Background information and settings: Era una bella giornata. (It was a beautiful day.)
- Repeated or habitual actions: Guardavo sempre il telegiornale la sera. (I always watched the news in the evening.)
- Mental or physical states: Era preoccupato per la situazione. (He was worried about the situation.)
Regular Imperfect Verb Conjugation
Regular verbs follow predictable endings in the imperfect tense. For example, the verb guardare (to watch) conjugates as:
- Io guardavo
- Tu guardavi
- Lui/lei guardava
- Noi guardavamo
- Voi guardavate
- Loro guardavano
These endings apply to most -are, -ere, and -ire verbs, making it straightforward to form new imperfect verbs.
Common Irregular Verbs in the Imperfetto
Several frequently used verbs have irregular stems in the imperfect tense but share common endings:
- Essere (to be): ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano
- Avere (to have): avevo, avevi, aveva, avevamo, avevate, avevano
- Fare (to do/make): facevo, facevi, faceva, facevamo, facevate, facevano
- Dire (to say/tell): dicevo, dicevi, diceva, dicevamo, dicevate, dicevano
- Reagire (to react): reagivo, reagivi, reagiva, reagivamo, reagivate, reagivano
Practical Usage: Talking About News and Events
This lesson includes dialogues where speakers use the imperfect tense to discuss recent news, reactions to reports, and ongoing situations heard on TV or radio.
Examples:
- "Hai visto il telegiornale ieri sera?" (Did you watch the news last night?)
- "Io spesso vedevo quelle notizie sul traffico quando abitavo qui." (I often watched those traffic news when I lived here.)
- "Ero un po’ preoccupato, ma ho cercato di restare ottimista." (I was a bit worried but tried to remain optimistic.)
Contextual Notes: Differences and Useful Phrases
Unlike English simple past or past continuous, the Italian imperfetto covers ongoing past actions without needing auxiliary verbs. For example, English might use "I was watching" or "I used to watch," whereas Italian uses guardavo for both. This makes the imperfetto a versatile tense to express background and habitual past actions.
Useful phrases for talking about news or reports:
- Informavano su... — They were informing about...
- Dicevano che... — They said that...
- Reagivo a... — I used to react to...
- Guardavo il telegiornale — I was watching the news
- Ascoltavo la radio — I used to listen to the radio
Practicing these verbs and phrases will help you discuss past events and your reactions naturally in Italian conversations.
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