dovere imperfect tense conjugation
Dovere (to have to/must) in the imperfect tense: dovevo, dovevi, doveva, dovevamo, dovevate, dovevano.
Imperfetto Imperfect
| io | |
|---|---|
| tu | |
| lui/lei | |
| noi | |
| voi | |
| loro |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the imperfect tense
The imperfetto describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions and descriptions: “Da bambino giocavo a calcio.”
How it is formed
Regular endings: -are → avo, avi, ava, avamo, avate, avano; -ere → evo…; -ire → ivo…. Essere is irregular (ero, eri, era…); fare, dire and bere use their old stems (facevo, dicevo, bevevo).
Dovere is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Dovere in a sentence
- Devo studiare stasera.I have to study tonight.
- Ieri ho dovuto lavorare fino a tardi.Yesterday I had to work late.
Modal verb, irregular; auxiliary matches the dependent infinitive's usual auxiliary.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of dovere?
Dovere in the Italian imperfect tense: io dovevo, tu dovevi, lui/lei doveva, noi dovevamo, voi dovevate, loro dovevano.
Is dovere irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense dovere takes the regular endings for its verb class, so dovevo follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Italian imperfect tense?
The imperfetto describes the past as background: habits (“used to”), ongoing actions and descriptions: “Da bambino giocavo a calcio.”
How is the imperfect tense formed?
Regular endings: -are → avo, avi, ava, avamo, avate, avano; -ere → evo…; -ire → ivo…. Essere is irregular (ero, eri, era…); fare, dire and bere use their old stems (facevo, dicevo, bevevo).
Full dovere conjugation, all tenses →
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