What the Imperfect Is For
The imperfect paints the background.
How It Works
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| a scene | Roma magna erat. | Rome was big. |
| an action in progress | Iulia in horto cantabat. | Iulia was singing in the garden. |
| a habit | Monachi cotidie orabant. | The monks prayed every day. |
| an action that is interrupted | Marcus legebat cum Quintus venit. | Marcus was reading when Quintus came. |
English often says was or used to, but it can also use a plain past, as in the monks prayed every day. Ask yourself whether the action was repeated or still going on. If so, Latin uses the imperfect.
The interrupting event in the last row, venit, is in the perfect, the tense of the next entries. The two tenses work as a pair.
Examples (5)
- Roma magna erat.
Rome was big.
A scene, told with the imperfect of sum.
- Iulia in horto cantabat.
Iulia was singing in the garden.
An action in progress.
- Monachi cotidie in ecclesia orabant.
The monks prayed in church every day.
Cotidie shows a habit.
- Marcus legebat cum Quintus venit.
Marcus was reading when Quintus came.
Legebat is the background. Venit, in the perfect, is the event that interrupts it.
- Pueri saepe in foro ludebant.
The boys often played in the forum.
Saepe points to a habit.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The uses need the forms first.
Related Patterns
Practice What the Imperfect Is For in Bubblegum
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