Past tense: A form describing an earlier time; limited past states precede completed events.

Was, were, there was, there were

In this module, you learn a small, useful past form for photos and old situations: era and ero. Use it for description, not for long actions. For example: Era un uomo buono or Ero piccolo.

Use era with he, she, it, or polite Lei: Mio marito era giovane. Use ero with io: Io ero ad Amburgo.

For existence in the past, use c’era and c’erano: C’era una foto sul tavolo and C’erano molte foto sul muro.

You also see marriage words in the past or present description: era sposato / era sposata, non sono sposato / sposata. The ending changes with the person described.

• Lui era molto giovane in questa foto.He was very young in this photo.

• Io ero ad Amburgo quando avevo dieci anni.I was in Hamburg when I was ten years old.

• Sul tavolo c’era una foto.There was a photo on the table.

• Sul muro c’erano molte foto.There were many photos on the wall.

• La casa era molto vecchia.The house was very old.

• Quando ero piccolo, io ero in Germania.When I was little, I was in Germany.

  Quando ero piccola, io ero in Germania.When I was little, I was in Germany.

• Non ero sposato.I was not married.

  Non ero sposata.I was not married.

• La foto era girata verso il muro.The photo was turned toward the wall.

The complete past-state forms of essere are ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano. They describe how someone or something was. Compare ero piccolo/piccola with ero un bambino/una bambina. Completed events are introduced later with avere/essere and a past participle.