stare imperfect tense conjugation
Stare (to stay/be (health, location)) in the imperfect tense: stavo, stavi, stava, stavamo, stavate, stavano.
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).
Stare is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Stare in a sentence
- Sto bene, grazie.I am well, thank you.
- Ieri sono stato a casa tutto il giorno.Yesterday I stayed home all day.
Irregular; used for health/location, overlaps with essere; also forms progressive tenses.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of stare?
Stare in the Italian imperfect tense: io stavo, tu stavi, lui/lei stava, noi stavamo, voi stavate, loro stavano.
Is stare irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense stare takes the regular endings for its verb class, so stavo 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 stare conjugation, all tenses →
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