Episode 03 - Imperfetto in Action - The Imperfetto Part 3

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

🎧 Episode 03 - Imperfetto in Action - The Imperfetto Part 3

Hello and welcome to my podcast. I’m Myra and we are on the third episode about the Italian imperfetto. If you are new to this podcast, I’d recommend you start at Episode 1 as this podcast revolves around an unfolding story.

In our last episode, I asked you if you could come up with the answers to three questions. 

Antonio: Myra, ma secondo te, l’hanno fatto davvero o stanno solo facendo finta?
(Myra, but in your opinion, did they really do it, or are they just pretending?) 

Myra: Secondo me? In my opinion? Of course our listeners did their homework.  Tony thinks you might be faking it, facendo finta. 

Antonio:  Chi è Tony?
(Who is Tony?) 

Myra: Right, my mistake, Antonio Giovanni Maria di Rossi, can we get on with the questions? Allora…

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?

How did you do with this assignment?  If you didn’t get around to it, I would encourage you to take a moment now to answer these questions, and if you are unsure of any of the answers, I have posted them at the end of the transcript for Episode 2.

I also asked you to consider the three uses of the imperfetto and where they are illustrated in this second part of Chapter One of our story.

So far in "The Pages of the Past," we've met Mariella, a young woman living with her mother Anita in Florence near the Basilica di San Lorenzo. Despite her art history degree, she works at a travel agency handling tourist inquiries, feeling unfulfilled and yearning for something more. 

Just a little footnote here; The story mentions that the old library had once been a monastery that was later taken over by the Medici. Just in case you might not have heard of the Medici, they were one of the most powerful families back in Renaissance Florence, known for their wealth, political influence, and patronage of the arts. They ruled the city for centuries, funding artists like Michelangelo and architects who shaped Florence’s beauty. 

Antonio: Ah beh, Myra… chi non ha sentito parlare dei Medici? Vuoi spiegare anche chi era Leonardo da Vinci?
(Ah well, Myra... who hasn't heard of the Medici? Do you also want to explain who Leonardo da Vinci was?) 

Myra: I suppose you’re right Antonio, most people have probably heard of the Medici. But do you know why they took over so many buildings?

Antonio:  Mah, non sono un esperto sull’argomento, ma da quello che ho capito, la famiglia Medici prendeva molti edifici a Firenze per mostrare che erano ricchi e potenti. Volevano lasciare qualcosa di importante per il futuro, un segno della loro grandezza. Erano molto conosciuti per il modo in cui riutilizzavano gli edifici invece di costruirne di nuovi.
(Mah, I'm not an expert on the subject, but from what I understand, the Medici family took over many buildings in Florence to show that they were rich and powerful. They wanted to leave something important for the future, a sign of their greatness. They were well known for the way they repurposed buildings instead of constructing new ones.) 

Myra: Hang on Antonio, could you just slow that down a little bit?

(Antonio repeats more slowly)

Myra:  Quindi, from what you’re saying, Antonio, the Medici took over buildings in Florence to showcase their wealth and power, leaving behind lasting monuments to their legacy. And they had a reputation for repurposing spaces rather than tearing them down?

Antonio: Eh sì! Dopotutto, chi dorme non piglia pesci.
(Oh yes! After all, those who sleep don’t catch fish.) 

Myra: Who sleeps doesn’t catch fish? Ah yes, like the English you snooze, you lose. I guess the Medici weren’t snoozing in this respect. 

Tornando a noi,
  (Back to us) or (Getting back to the point),
Now that you have had a chance to hear the ‘Italian-only’ version of part two, here it is again, but with the English translation. And with a pause in-between, just in case you’d like to press pause and have a go at the Italian before it plays.

We pick up with Mariella considering how she might be spending her working life doing something different.

The Pages of the Past – Le Pagine del Passato. 

Chapter 1 - The Ancient Library - La Biblioteca Antica – Part 2 – With English Transation

She had dreams of a job where she could share her love for Florence’s culture and history, … (silence)

Tony?

Antonio:  Chi è Tony?
(Who is Tony?) 

Myra: Ma dai, Antonio… sei pronto o no?
(Come on, Antonio... are you ready or not?) 

Antonio: Ah sì, sì, certo!
(Ah yes, yes, of course!) 

Sognava un lavoro in cui potesse condividere il suo amore per la cultura e la storia di Firenze, 

but instead, she spent most of her time in front of a computer, solving other people’s problems.

ma invece passava la maggior parte del tempo davanti a un computer, risolvendo i problemi degli altri.

Often during her lunch break, she would wander the streets of Florence, peering through ornate gates into grand courtyards, 

Spesso, durante la pausa pranzo, passeggiava per le strade di Firenze, sbirciando nei grandi cortili attraverso i cancelli decorati, 

imagining what it would be like to live in such a magnificent place.

immaginando come sarebbe stato vivere in un posto così magnifico. 

Her mother Anita, who worked as a nurse at the local hospital, always told her to keep dreaming big.

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

'Your dreams will come true one day,' she would say with a knowing smile that Mariella never quite understood.

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

On Saturday mornings, she took her bicycle to her favorite café for a cappuccino and a break from the office. 

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

The route always brought her past an old building with tall, dusty windows. 

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

It had once been a monastery that was later taken over by the Medici, and eventually converted to a library where her grandmother worked, 

Un tempo era stato un monastero, poi preso dai Medici e trasformato in una biblioteca dove sua nonna aveva lavorato, 

a place Mariella remembered, filled with light, stories, and the smell of books.

un luogo che Mariella ricordava pieno di luce, storie e di odore di libri.

It was empty now and Mariella couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened to all those books that her grandmother had spent so much time cataloguing, ordering and even repairing.

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.

The library had closed about five years earlier and her grandmother had recently passed away.

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

As a child, Mariella had spent hours and hours there with her Grandma Maria, who had volunteered to read stories to the children. 

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

“One day, I would like to have work that is fulfilling the way Grandma Maria’s was to her,” Mariella often thought. “Something that makes people happy.”

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

Answer to Assignment – Three Uses of the Imperfetto

Are you ready with your answer to where in this part of the story are the 3 uses of the imperfetto illustrated? Shall we compare notes?

How about if I say a sentence from the story and you tell me whether it is describing background details, talking about habits or repeated actions or ongoing actions in the past.

As usual, I will provide the English first, and pause allowing you to think about and maybe even say what the Italian would be, then I’ll provide the Italian, and I’ll pause again for another few seconds before giving the answer.

Antonio:
Ehm... scusa, Myra, ma chi è che fornisce l’italiano, esattamente?
(Ahem... excuse me, Myra, but who exactly is providing the Italian?)

Myra:
Alright, alright, it’s you Antonio. you’ll provide the Italian.

Antonio:
Ecco, così mi piace! 
(There, that’s more like it!)

Myra: Tornando a noi. 
(Back to us) or (Getting back to the point). 
Ready? Here we go. 

1.         She had dreams of a job where she could share her love for Florence’s culture and history.

Sognava un lavoro in cui potesse condividere il suo amore per la cultura e la storia di Firenze.

but instead, she spent most of her time in front of a computer, solving other people’s problems.

ma invece passava la maggior parte del tempo davanti a un computer, risolvendo i problemi degli altri.

→ This is an example of ongoing actions in the past. 
   Sognava and passava show ongoing states or actions that were happening at the time. 

2.       Often during her lunch break, she would wander the streets of Florence, peering through ornate gates into grand courtyards.
 
 Spesso, durante la pausa pranzo, passeggiava per le strade di Firenze, sbirciando nei grandi cortili,

imagining what it would be like to live in such a magnificent place.

immaginando come sarebbe stato vivere in un posto così magnifico.

Myra:
→ This is an example of talking about habits or repeated actions.
Passeggiava, sbirciando, and immaginando indicate repeated past actions that Mariella did often during lunch breaks.

Antonio:
Aspetta un attimo! Sbirciando e immaginando non sono esempi dell’imperfetto. Sono gerundi, non tempi verbali!

Myra:
Bravo, Antonio! He’s right—sbirciando and immaginando are gerund forms, not tenses like imperfetto.

Antonio:
Sono forme verbali che finiscono in -ando o -endo, come camminando, parlando, leggendo...

Myra:
In this sentence, they describe actions happening at the same time as passeggiava.
So we get:
“She was strolling… while peeking into courtyards and imagining what it would be like to live there.”

We will explore the gerundio more deeply when we get to Chapter 6 of the story.
For now, just notice how it adds color and motion to what’s happening in the past.

Next one:

3.       On Saturday mornings, she took her bicycle to her favorite café for a cappuccino and a break from the office.
 
 Il sabato mattina Mariella prendeva la bicicletta per andare nel suo bar preferito a bere un cappuccino e a fare una pausa dall’ufficio. 

→ This is also an example of talking about habits or repeated actions.
   Prendeva shows a habitual action that happened every Saturday.

Myra:
Before we move on, I’d like to mention something.
In the next few examples you’ll hear the word “era” several times.
Era is the verb essere in the imperfetto tense.
We haven’t talked yet about how to form essere in the imperfetto.
We’ll come back to it in Chapter 6 of our story, when we take a closer look at the imperfetto.

Antonio:
Ma certo! Era è ovunque! È uno dei verbi più usati in italiano!

Myra:
Yes, Antonio’s right—era is everywhere. It shows up all the time in Italian.

Antonio:
Myra… era, non “ed-a”! Devi arrotolare un po’ la “r”… errrraaa... come un gatto italiano che fa le fusa!

Myra:
Okay, okay, I’ll keep practicing!
For now, just know that era is often used to describe a state or situation in the past.
Okay, let’s continue with our next example.

4.       It had once been a monastery that was later taken over by the Medici, and eventually converted to a library where her grandmother worked,…
 
 Un tempo era stato un monastero, poi preso dai Medici e trasformato in una biblioteca dove sua nonna aveva lavorato,...
 
   ...a place Mariella remembered, filled with light, stories, and the smell of books.
 
   un luogo che Mariella ricordava pieno di luce, storie e di odore di libri.

→ This is an example of describing background details.
 This sentence describes the history and characteristics of the library, providing background details.

5.       It was empty now and Mariella couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened to all those books that her grandmother had spent so much time cataloguing, ordering and even repairing.

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.

 → Also this is an example of describing background details. 
   The imperfetto (era vuoto) describes the state of the building in the past.

6.       The library had closed about five years earlier and her grandmother had recently passed away.

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

→ This one is another example of ongoing actions in the past.
   Era stata chiusa and era mancata indicate a state or condition that existed in the past.

7.       As a child, Mariella had spent hours and hours there with her Grandma Maria, who had volunteered to read stories to the children. 

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

→This one is talking about habits or repeated actions.
    Aveva passato and si era offerta describe frequent past actions during Mariella's childhood.

8.       “One day, I would like to have work that is fulfilling the way Grandma Maria’s was to her,” Mariella often thought.
 
   “Un giorno vorrei avere un lavoro che mi soddisfi come quello di nonna Maria,” pensava spesso Mariella.

 → This one is an example of ongoing actions in the past.
   Pensava describes an ongoing thought process in the past.

(If you are following with the podcast please skip to “And that brings us to the conjugation exercise” below.)
 
 Here are the same answers again, listed by category.
(The numbers at the beginning of each one represents the order they appear in the story, and the order that they are said in the podcast.) 

1) Describing Background Details

The imperfetto is used to set the scene and provide descriptive information about the past.

4- 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.

→ This sentence describes the history and characteristics of the library, providing background details.

5- 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.

→ The imperfetto (era vuoto) describes the state of the building in the past.

 2) Talking About Habits or Repeated Actions

The imperfetto is used for actions that were repeated over time or habits in the past.

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

→ Passeggiava, sbirciando, and immaginando indicate repeated past actions that Mariella did often during lunch breaks.

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

→ Prendeva shows a habitual action that happened every Saturday.

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

→ Aveva passato and si era offerta describe frequent past actions during Mariella's childhood.

 3) Ongoing Actions in the Past

The imperfetto is also used for actions that were happening at a certain moment in the past.

1- 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.

→ Sognava and passava show ongoing states or actions that were happening at the time.

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

→ Era stata chiusa and era mancata indicate a state or condition that existed in the past.

 8- “Un giorno vorrei avere un lavoro che mi soddisfi come quello di nonna Maria”, pensava spesso Mariella.

→ Pensava describes an ongoing thought process in the past.

And that brings us to the conjugation exercise. In the last episode, your assignment was to conjugate 5 verbs. Let’s go over their meaning one more time.

1.           To live - Abitare 

2.           To work - Lavorare 

3.           To see - Vedere 

4.           To stroll - Passeggiare 

5.           To prepare - Preparare

Conjugation Answer:

1. Abitare (to live)

•             Io abitavo

•             Tu abitavi

•             Lui/Lei abitava

•             Noi abitavamo

•             Voi abitavate

•             Loro abitavano

2. Lavorare (to work)

•             Io lavoravo

•             Tu lavoravi

•             Lui/Lei lavorava

•             Noi lavoravamo

•             Voi lavoravate

•             Loro lavoravano

3. Vedere (to see)

•             Io vedevo

•             Tu vedevi

•             Lui/Lei vedeva

•             Noi vedevamo

•             Voi vedevate

•             Loro vedevano

4. Passeggiare (to stroll)

•             Io passeggiavo

•             Tu passeggiavi

•             Lui/Lei passeggiava

•             Noi passeggiavamo

•             Voi passeggiavate

•             Loro passeggiavano

5. Preparare (to prepare)

•             Io preparavo

•             Tu preparavi

•             Lui/Lei preparava

•             Noi preparavamo

•             Voi preparavate

•             Loro preparavano

(Then the conjugation is repeated without subject pronouns)

And now if you follow in the transcript (this document), there is a list in English of phrases in the past tense, and your assignment is to cover the right hand side of the list (with the answers), and see if you can come up with each one as you work your way down the list. And at the end of the transcript you have a list of 18 sentences in mixed order where you can write in the answer in the blanks provided. Have a go at that one and you can check your answers with the answer key that follows.

Use a piece of paper to cover the right hand side of the table and work your way down, seeing if you can come up with the Italian. 

List of English Phrases to be Translated

I was living                                   Io abitavo  

You were working                      Tu lavoravi  

He/She was seeing                   Lui/Lei vedeva  

We were strolling                      Noi passeggiavamo  

You (all) were preparing           Voi preparavate  

They were living                        Loro abitavano  

I was strolling                             Io passeggiavo  

You were preparing                 Tu preparavi  

He/She was working                Lui/Lei lavorava  

We were seeing                        Noi vedevamo  

You (all) were living                 Voi abitavate  

They were strolling                  Loro passeggiavano  

I was seeing                              Io vedevo  

You were living                        Tu abitavi  

He/She was preparing           Lui/Lei preparava  

We were working                    Noi lavoravamo  

You (all) were strolling            Voi passeggiavate  

They were preparing              Loro preparavano  

I’m excited to let you know that there is a bonus episode available exclusively for subscribers. In this episode, we’ll explore key vocabulary from part 3 of our story, giving you a head start for Episode 4 of the podcast. You’ll hear new words in context, work through recall exercises, and challenge yourself with a mini quiz here and there, as well as interactive flashcards. If you’d like to boost your Italian and support the podcast, just click the link in the show notes to support the show.

Today I will leave you with an entire recap of what we have covered so far in Le Pagine del Passato, Capitolo Uno - La Biblioteca Antica, first and second parts, parte prima e seconda, only in Italian, solo in italiano.

Now that you have heard the translation and your brain has had time to absorb the Italian a little more, I think you’ll find that you are understanding more and more of the story in Italian. Sensa perdere tempo….

(Replay of parts 1 and 2)

Chapter 1 - The Ancient Library - La Biblioteca Antica – Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:  Before we wrap up, let’s do a quick recap of what you can do to reinforce what we’ve covered here today.

First, return to the conjugation exercise. You can easily find it in the chapters for the podcast and practice conjugating the five verbs in the imperfetto. Remember to use your pause button and try to recall and say the conjugations before you hear the correct forms.

Next, work through the two written exercises in the transcript. There is a List of English Phrases to be translated – Cover the right-hand side of the list and challenge yourself to come up with the correct Italian forms before checking your answers. And there is a Fill-in-the-Blanks Quiz – Complete the 18 sentences by answering with the correct form of the verb in the imperfetto, then check your answers with the answer key.

And finally, you may want to relisten to the full Italian recap of Chapters 1 & 2. I think you will be amazed at how much more of the story you understand without any English transation.

And that concludes our podcast for today. 

Antonio: Aspetta, aspetta! Non diciamo ciao così in fretta!
(Wait, wait! Let’s not say goodbye so fast!)

Myra: Antonio, we have to finish at some point!

Antonio: Ma solo se prometti che torniamo presto!
(But only if you promise we’ll be back soon!)

Myra: Very well. I promise we will return soon. 

Antonio: E va bene… ma mi mancherete!
(Alright… but I’ll miss you all!)

Myra: You will miss all our listeners? Sono d’accordo. I agree. I will miss you all too! But not for long!

Up next Passato Prossimo, alla prossimo, ciao ciao!

Quiz – Fill in the blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the imperfetto:

1.      I was living – Io _______ (abitare)

2.      You were working – Tu _______ (lavorare)

3.      He/She was seeing – Lui/Lei _______ (vedere)

4.      We were strolling – Noi _______ (passeggiare)

5.      You (all) were preparing – Voi _______ (preparare)

6.      They were living – Loro _______ (abitare)

7.      I was strolling – Io _______ (passeggiare)

8.      You were preparing – Tu _______ (preparare)

9.      He/She was working – Lui/Lei _______ (lavorare)

10.        We were seeing – Noi _______ (vedere)

11.        You (all) were living – Voi _______ (abitare)

12.        They were strolling – Loro _______ (passeggiare)

13.        I was seeing – Io _______ (vedere)

14.        You were living – Tu _______ (abitare)

15.        He/She was preparing – Lui/Lei _______ (preparare)

16.        We were working – Noi _______ (lavorare)

17.        You (all) were strolling – Voi _______ (passeggiare)

18.        They were preparing – Loro _______ (preparare)

Answer Key:

1.      Io abitavo

2.      Tu lavoravi

3.      Lui/Lei vedeva

4.      Noi passeggiavamo

5.      Voi preparavate

6.      Loro abitavano

7.      Io passeggiavo

8.      Tu preparavi

9.      Lui/Lei lavorava

10.        Noi vedevamo

11.        Voi abitavate

12.        Loro passeggiavano

13.        Io vedevo

14.        Tu abitavi

15.        Lui/Lei preparava

16.        Noi lavoravamo

17.        Voi passeggiavate

18.        Loro preparavano