vivere imperfect tense conjugation
Vivere (to live) in the imperfect tense: vivevo, vivevi, viveva, vivevamo, vivevate, vivevano.
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).
Vivere is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Vivere in a sentence
- Vivo a Milano da cinque anni.I have been living in Milan for five years.
- Ho vissuto in Francia da bambino.I lived in France as a child.
Aux. essere is standard (sono vissuto), though avere is sometimes used colloquially.
FAQ
What is the imperfect tense of vivere?
Vivere in the Italian imperfect tense: io vivevo, tu vivevi, lui/lei viveva, noi vivevamo, voi vivevate, loro vivevano.
Is vivere irregular in the imperfect tense?
No. In the imperfect tense vivere takes the regular endings for its verb class, so vivevo 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 vivere conjugation, all tenses →
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