Imperfect of Modal Verbs: Italian Grammar Lesson

Q: What does volere mean?

'Volere' is an Italian verb that means 'to want' or 'to wish.'

Q: What does potere mean?

'Potere' is an Italian verb that means 'can' or 'to be able to.'

Q: What does dovere mean?

'Dovere' is an Italian verb that means 'must,' 'to have to,' or 'should.' It's a modal verb that is used to express obligation, necessity, or duty.

Key Takeaways

Imperfetto is used to describe continued actions, habits, and descriptions in the past in Italian.
The imperfetto forms of modal verbs like volere, potere, dovere, and sapere are regular and consistent.
Examples of volere: volevo (I wanted), volevi (you wanted), volevano (they wanted).
For potere: potevo (I could), potevi (you could), potevano (they could).
In the case of dovere: dovevo (I had to), dovevi (you had to), dovevano (they had to).
Lastly, sapere forms include sapevo (I knew) and sapevano (they knew), indicating knowledge in the past.

Stefano's Insights

Play to see captions...

Ah, i verbi modali italiani: volere, potere, dovere e sapere! Questi piccoli gioielli irregolari sono il pane quotidiano di chiunque voglia padroneggiare l'italiano. Nonostante le loro stranezze, la loro coniugazione all'imperfetto è sorprendentemente regolare. Ricordo quando, da bambino, non potevo uscire con i miei amici senza aver fatto i compiti; era sempre un "dovevo" che mi perseguitava! E chi non ha mai detto "volevo andare al mare" durante una noiosa estate in città? Questi verbi ci aiutano a esprimere desideri, abilità, obblighi e conoscenze passate, rendendo le nostre storie più vivide e colorate. Imparateli bene, e vi apriranno un mondo di possibilità linguistiche!

Ah, Italian modal verbs: volere, potere, dovere, and sapere! These little irregular gems are the daily bread of anyone wanting to master Italian. Despite their quirks, their conjugation in the imperfect tense is surprisingly regular. I remember as a kid, I couldn't go out with my friends without finishing my homework; it was always a "dovevo" haunting me! And who hasn't said "volevo andare al mare" during a boring summer in the city? These verbs help us express past desires, abilities, obligations, and knowledge, making our stories more vivid and colorful. Learn them well, and they'll open a world of linguistic possibilities!

Quick facts

What do volere, potere, and dovere express in Italian?

Volere expresses a wish, potere expresses a possibility, and dovere expresses a necessity.

Can volere, potere, and dovere be followed by other verbs?

Yes, these verbs are special in Italian as they can be followed by other verbs to form compound structures.

How do you say "We want to eat pizza" in Italian using volere?

"Vogliamo mangiare la pizza."

How is the verb potere used to ask for permission in Italian?

Use potere in a question, e.g., "Possiamo venire con voi?" meaning "Can we come with you?"

How do you convey an obligation using dovere in Italian?

Use dovere, e.g., "Dovete andare a casa," which means "You have to go home."

What is the Italian imperfect tense, imperfetto, used for?

The imperfetto is used to describe past conditions, habitual actions, states of mind, or prolonged actions.

How would you describe a past habit using imperfetto?

"Noi andavamo sempre in Messico d’estate," translates to "We would always go to Mexico in the summer."

How do you conjugate volere in the imperfetto for "I wanted"?

"Io volevo" is the conjugation for "I wanted" in the imperfetto.

What does "La scorsa estate io volevo andare al mare" mean?

It translates to "Last summer, I wanted to go to the beach."

How do you express a past ability using potere in imperfetto?

"Io potevo" means "I could," e.g., "L’anno scorso potevo lavorare da casa" translates to "Last year, I could work from home."

Audio images

🔊

I bambini non potevano mangiare dolci dopo pranzo.

🔊

Dovevo finire i compiti prima di uscire.

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Main Article

What are “Potere”, “Volere”, “Dovere” and “Sapere” in Italian?

Volere (to want), potere (to can/be able to), dovere (to have to), and sapere (to know) are Italian modal verbs. These verbs are irregular verbs that indicate a modality, like probability, ability, obligation, necessity…

Just like in English, Italian modal verbs are always followed by a verb in the infinitive tense.

Voglio mangiare la pizza.

I want to eat pizza.

Possiamo venire con voi?

Can we come with you?

Dovete andare a casa.

You have to go home.

Simona sa sciare molto bene.

Simona can sky very well.

Given their use, they are classified as auxiliary verbs, like essere and avere. For this reason, these verbs can be conjugated in all verb tenses. In this lesson, I will show you the the imperfetto.

Imperfect Tense of “Potere”, “Volere”, “Dovere” and “Sapere”

What is Imperfetto

Imperfetto is one of the tenses that we have in Italian to talk about the past. Specifically, it refers to:

Continued and prolonged actions that happened in the past
Habits and repeated actions in the past
Factual conditions in the past
Descriptions in the past

La piazza prima era molto piccola.

Before, the square was very small.

Laura non stava molto bene ieri.

Laura wasn’t very well yesterday.

Noi andavamo sempre in Messico d’estate.

We would always go to Mexico in the summer.

Cosa dicevi ieri su mio fratello?

What were you saying yesterday about my brother?

What I always tell my students to make it easier is to translate imperfetto with the English “used to”.

Imperfetto of Modal Verbs

As I mentioned before, modal verbs are generally irregular. However, not all irregular Italian verbs display irregularities in all verbs tenses. In fact, the conjugation of the imperfetto of this verb is actually regular and consistent.

volere

Italian	Translation
Io volevo	I wanted
Tu volevi	You wanted
Lui/Lei voleva	He/She wanted
Noi volevamo	We wanted
Voi volevate	You wanted
Loro volevano	They wanted

La scorsa estate io volevo andare al mare.

Last summer, I wanted to go to the beach.

Cosa volevi dirmi ieri?

What did you want to tell me yesterday?

potere

Italian	Translation
Io potevo	I could
Tu potevi	You could
Lui/Lei poteva	He/She could
Noi potevamo	We could
Voi potevate	You could
Loro potevano	They could

Da piccoli, non potevamo uscire con i nostri amici.

When we were little, we couldn’t go out with our friends.

L’anno scorso potevo lavorare da casa.

Last year, I could work from home.

dovere

Italian	Translation
Io dovevo	I had to
Tu dovevi	You had to
Lui/Lei doveva	He/She had to
Noi dovevamo	We had to
Voi dovevate	You had to
Loro dovevano	They had to

Cosa dovevate dirci ieri?

What did you have to tell us yesterday?

Angelo doveva pulire la casa e non l’ha fatto.

Angelo had to clean the house, but he didn’t do it.

sapere

Italian	Translation
Io sapevo	I knew
Tu sapevi	You knew
Lui/Lei sapeva	He/She knew
Noi sapevamo	We knew
Voi sapevate	You knew
Loro sapevano	They knew

Da bambina non sapevo sciare.

When I was a child I couldn’t ski.

Sapevo giocare a carte, ora non mi ricordo.

I could play cards, now I do not remember.

Key Terms and Concepts

Modal Verbs

Volere, potere, dovere, and sapere are modal verbs in Italian, indicating modalities like ability, obligation, or desire.

Imperfetto Tense

The imperfetto is a past tense used for continuous or repeated actions, habitual events, conditions, or descriptions in the past.

Volere Conjugation in Imperfetto

In the imperfetto tense, volere is conjugated as volevo, volevi, voleva, volevamo, volevate, volevano, meaning 'wanted.'

Potere Conjugation in Imperfetto

In the imperfetto tense, potere is conjugated as potevo, potevi, poteva, potevamo, potevate, potevano, meaning 'could.'

Dovere Conjugation in Imperfetto

In the imperfetto tense, dovere is conjugated as dovevo, dovevi, doveva, dovevamo, dovevate, dovevano, meaning 'had to.'

Sapere Conjugation in Imperfetto

In the imperfetto tense, sapere is conjugated as sapevo, sapevi, sapeva, sapevamo, sapevate, sapevano, meaning 'knew.'

Test your knowledge in 10 quick questions

Words

verboverb

infinitoinfinitive

irregolareirregular

condizionecondition

tempotense

azioneaction

abitudinehabit

conoscenzaknowledge

volontàdesire

obbligoobligation

Phrases

tempo imperfettoimperfect tense

verbi modalimodal verbs

desideriodesire

abilitàability

obbligoobligation

conoscenzaknowledge

conjugazione regolareregular conjugation

azione continuatacontinued action

condizioni passatepast conditions

descrizionedescription

Sentences

Volevo imparare a suonare il pianoforte da bambino.

I wanted to learn to play the piano as a child.

Quando ero giovane, potevo correre per chilometri senza stancarmi.

When I was young, I could run for miles without getting tired.

Dovevo studiare ogni sera per passare l'esame.

I had to study every night to pass the exam.

Sapevo che sarebbe arrivato tardi, quindi non mi sono preoccupato.

I knew he would arrive late, so I didn't worry.

Ogni estate, volevamo visitare i nostri nonni in campagna.

Every summer, we wanted to visit our grandparents in the countryside.

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Answers

FAQs

What is the imperfect?

Is the tense we used to talk about the past. It can be to describe the way someone or something was; to describe situations or factual conditions; to describe habits; and to express prolonged actions.