sentire imperfect tense conjugation
Sentire (to feel; to hear) in the imperfect tense: sentivo, sentivi, sentiva, sentivamo, sentivate, sentivano.
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).
Sentire is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Sentire in a sentence
- Sento un rumore strano.I hear a strange noise.
- Ho sentito la tua chiamata ieri.I heard your call yesterday.
Regular -ire verb (no -isc-); reflexive sentirsi means 'to feel' emotionally.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of sentire?
Sentire in the Italian imperfect tense: io sentivo, tu sentivi, lui/lei sentiva, noi sentivamo, voi sentivate, loro sentivano.
Is sentire irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense sentire takes the regular endings for its verb class, so sentivo 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 sentire conjugation, all tenses →
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