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.
Listening and reading
Start this class by listening to the audio and completing the corresponding exercises.
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:
- Descrivi cosa è successo nelle notizie. (Describe what happened on the news.)
- Descrivi i diversi tipi di media che vedi. (Describe the different media types you see.)
- Leggi o guardi le notizie regolarmente? (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 quando ho sentito una notizia interessante.
(Yesterday ______ the news when I heard an interesting piece of news.)2. Il presentatore ______ la situazione con calma e chiarezza.
(The presenter ______ the situation calmly and clearly.)3. Noi ______ sempre i nostri amici sulle ultime notizie.
(We ______ always our friends about the latest news.)4. Tu ______ una chiamata mentre ascoltavi il programma radiofonico.
(You ______ a call while you were listening to the radio program.)Exercise 5: Did you hear the news?
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Guardare - Guardare
Imperfetto
- Io guardavo
- Tu guardavi
- Lui/lei guardava
- Noi guardavamo
- Voi guardavate
- Loro guardavano
Sentire - Sentire
Imperfetto
- Io sentivo
- Tu sentivi
- Lui/lei sentiva
- Noi sentivamo
- Voi sentivate
- Loro sentivano
Dire - Dire
Imperfetto
- Io dicevo
- Tu dicevi
- Lui/lei diceva
- Noi dicevamo
- Voi dicevate
- Loro dicevano
Essere - Essere
Imperfetto
- Io ero
- Tu eri
- Lui/lei era
- Noi eravamo
- Voi eravate
- Loro erano
Informare - Informare
Imperfetto
- Io informavo
- Tu informavi
- Lui/lei informava
- Noi informavamo
- Voi informavate
- Loro informavano
Reagire - Reagire
Imperfetto
- Io reagivo
- Tu reagivi
- Lui/lei reagiva
- Noi reagivamo
- Voi reagivate
- Loro reagivano
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!
It's not the most exciting thing, we admit, but it’s absolutely essential (and we promise it'll pay off)!
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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