The imperfect

The imperfect is formed from the stem of the infinitive with the stressed suffix -a- or ea/-ia- and the endings:-m, -i, -, m, -!i, -u for all the verbs: Suffix -aSuffix -easuffix -iaVbs. in -a lucram Lucrai Lucra Lucram Lucra!i Lucrau Vbs. in - coboram Coborai Cobora Coboram Cobora!i Coborau Vbs. in -ea vedeam Vedeai Vedea Vedeam Vedea!i Vedeau Vbs. in -e ceream Cereai Cerea Ceream Cerea!i Cereau Vbs. in -i povesteam Povesteai Povestea Povesteam Povestea!i Povesteau Vbs in -i, stem in a vowel locuiam Locuiai Locuia Locuiam Locuia!i locuiau

The verbs in -a (1st conj.) adn - (4th conj.) take the suffix -a! the verbs in -ea (2nd conj.), in -e (3rd conj.) and in -i (4th conj.) take the suffix -ea! the verbs in -i (4th conj.) with the stem ending in a vowel (a locui, a b"nui)take the suffix -ia-, instead of -ea-: eu locuiam, tu locuiai, el locuia, noi locuiam, voi locuia!i, ei locuiau. ! The verb a "ti and the verb a scrie and its derivatives take the suffix -a: "tiam, "tiai, "tia, "tiam, "tia!i, "tiau ! the forms of the 1st person in the singular and in the plural are identical: eu lucram=noi lucram The imperfect negative is formed according to the general rule: eu nu lucram, eu nu n!elegeam The combination with different unstressed pronouns follows the general rules. When the verb is in the negative, the negation comes before the pronoun. Adverbs like mai, "i, tot, prea can be used with the verbs in the imperfect. If the verb is in the negative, all the inserted elements will be placecs between the negation nu and the actual verb: eu m# gr#beam, el nu se gr#bea, tu tot lucrai, noi nu mai vedeam nimic we couldn't see anything anymore Some verbs have irregular forms in the imperfect: A fi A avea A da A voi to want A sta (preffered instead of a vrea) Voiam Voiai Voia Voiam Voia!i St#team St#teai St#tea St#team St#tea!i

Eram Erai Era Eram Era!i

Aveam Aveai Avea Aveam Avea!i

D#deam D#deai D#dea D#deam D#dea!i

Erau

Aveau

D#deau

Voiau

st#teau

Usage of the imperfect indicative the imperfect is generally used to indicate an action or a state in the past which is perceived as progressive (thus the imperfect is the tense of story-telling), continuing, repeated or habitual Anul trecut m# trezeam la ora 6 "i lucram pn# la ora 12.00. (habitual, repeated action) When two past actions are expressed in a sentence, the imperfect renders either a continuous background action in contrast with a momentary action, or a subsequent action: Tu ce f#ceai cnd te-am sunat? - Citeam. What were you doing when I called you? I was reading. Cnd treceam pe la ea, era mereu ocupat#. Whenever I stopped by her place, she was always busy (simultaneous actions, the first imperfect showing a repeated action in the past, the second imperfect showing a continuing background action in the past) The imperfect is usually rendered in English by a past perfect continuous, as well as by the construction used to or would The imperfect can also have values that are typical for other moods or tenses. The most frequent and common conversion is the imperfect used as a past conditional. Dac# luai rochia ieri, nu mai era nevoie s# ne ducem "i ast#zi la magazin. If you had bought the dress yesterday, we wouldnt have got to go the store again today. In elliptical constructions with the conjuctions dac"/de if, the imperfect can show an unfulfilled wish, a regret Dac# "tiam! Had I known! Dac# r#mneai...! If you had stayed..! Dac# aveam bani... If I had had money... The imperfect can be used instead of the present indicative to make a request sound softer or more polite: Cu ce v# pot fi de folos? - Voiam doar s# v# cer un sfat! The imperfect of the verbs a #ti to know, a crede to think, to believe, a considera to believe, a b"nui to suspect, to believe is used to indicate a permanent state of awarness or a presupposition (both in the past and in the present) Credeam c# a!i plecat deja! Ce bine c# sunte!i nc# aici!. I thought you had left. It s good that you are still here! $tiam c# nu eram preg#tit# pentru a"a un examen. $i a fost un e"ec. The imperfect is also the tense used in the Romanian equivalent of the question 'Did you know that...?' '$tia!i c#..?'

Exercitii Traduceti urmatorul text Hello dears! My name is Lady Past Tense Continuous. I am also very nostalgic like my friend the Past Simple Boy. We were together in many occasions when we were young. While I was studying to be a secretary he was studying to be a teacher and we lived on the same street in Granada. When I was going out with his best friend Javi, the Past Simple Boy was going out with my best friend Margarita. This is an old story, but I like thinking about the past.. I met the Past Simple Boy again two years ago in our English Club called The Happy Verby Gang. We were talking for hours about the past times. These days, I usually go out with another guy, the Present Perfect Man. We work in the same company and he is also a member of the club. He surprised me last evening; we were having dinner when he invited me to go on holidays together. (Perez, 2006)