"Master the Italian Past Perfect vs. Imperfect like a native!"

#RobertoBorzellinoLinguaitalianaperstranieri.

Hello everyone!!!

Are you ready to learn all about the difference between the near past and the imperfect? In this article, I will explain everything you need to know about these two verb forms. We will learn when to use the past perfect and when to use the imperfect, see the general rules and exceptions, and use many examples to make everything clearer and more understandable.

The past perfect
Let's start with the past perfect tense. This verbal form is used to talk about actions that were completed at a specific time in the past. It is the most common verbal form for talking about past events. The past perfect is constructed with the auxiliary "to have" or "to be" in the present indicative tense, followed by the past participle of the verb.

Examples:
I had pizza for lunch.
We arrived in Rome last night.
Did you see Tarantino's new movie?

The imperfect
Let us now turn to the imperfect. This verbal form is used to describe a past action that was prolonged in time or repeated in a habitual way. The imperfect is constructed by adding the correct desinences to the verb root.

Examples:
As a child, I always played with my friends.
Last week, I was reading a very interesting book.
When I was young, I studied every day to become a lawyer.

The difference between the near past and the imperfect.
Now that we have seen the definitions and examples of the two verb tenses, let's move on to see when it is correct to use the past perfect and when the imperfect.
The past perfect is used when you want to indicate a completed action that took place at a specific time in the past. For example, "Yesterday I ate a pizza" indicates that the action of eating the pizza was completed at a specific time in the past, that is, yesterday.
The imperfect, on the other hand, is used to describe a past action that was prolonged in time or repeated in a habitual way. For example, "As a child, I always played with my friends" indicates that the action of playing with friends was repeated habitually over an extended period of time, i.e., during childhood.

Exceptions
As always, there are some exceptions to the general rules. In some cases, the near past and the imperfect can be interchangeable. For example, "Yesterday I was watching a movie" and "Yesterday I watched a movie" are both correct and mean the same thing.
In this case, the past perfect is used to describe actions that were performed once and completed at a specific time in the past. On the other hand, the imperfect is used to describe actions that were repeated in the past or to describe the background of a past story.
For example, if we wanted to say "I had a pizza yesterday," I would use the past perfect because it is a specific action that was completed at a specific time in the past. On the other hand, if we wanted to say "as a child I ate pizza every Saturday night," I would use the imperfect because it is an action that was regularly repeated in the past.

In addition to describing specific, repeated actions, the past perfect and the imperfect can also be used to describe the duration of actions in the past. The near past is used to describe actions that lasted for a short period of time in the past, while the imperfect is used to describe actions that lasted for a long period of time.
For example, if we wanted to say "I watched a movie last night," I would use the past perfect because the action of watching the movie was completed over a short period of time in the past. On the other hand, if we wanted to say "I always watched movies when I was young," I would use the imperfect because the action of watching movies occurred over a long period of time in the past.

In addition, the near past and the imperfect can also be used together to describe actions in the past. In this case, the past perfect is used to describe specific actions that were completed in the past, while the imperfect is used to describe the background or circumstances of the actions.

For example, if we wanted to say "while watching the movie, I ate a pizza," I would use the past perfect to describe the specific action of eating the pizza and the imperfect to describe the background of the action, that is, the fact that I was watching a movie.

In general, the choice between the past perfect and the imperfect depends on the context and the specific use in the sentence. Practicing the use of both verb tenses can help you improve your ability to speak and write in Italian.

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