Uso dei tempi del passato

When talking about actions and events in the past that are regarded as uncompleted, ongoing, or habitual, Italian uses the imperfect tense, which typically describes:

a) Past actions/facts in their duration:

Pioveva da due giorni - It had been raining for two days
All’Università c’era una gran confusione - At the University there was a great mess

b) Past actions repeated regularly, as a habit:

L’estate scorsa andavamo al mare tutti i giorni - Last summer we used to go to the seaside everyday
Da giovane facevo molto sport - When I was young I used to practise a lot of sport

c) Events occurring at the same time in the past:

Mentre guardavo il film, mangiavo pop-corn - While I was watching the film, I ate pop-corn
L’insegnante parlava ma gli studenti non ascoltavano - The teacher was speaking, but students didn't listen

d) Narrated facts, in fairy tales and literature:

C’era una volta un regno molto lontano… - Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom...

When talking about actions and events in the past that are regarded as completed, Italian uses the perfect tense, which encompasses two forms: the present perfect (passato prossimo) and the simple perfect (passato remoto). The former is the perfect tense most frequently used in northern and much of central Italy, and its main function is to describe past events that may have some connection with the present (or the time when a sentence is spoken or written). The simple perfect is less frequently used, and its main function is to describe past events that have no connection with the present. In Italian you can frequently find sentences where the imperfect tense alternates with the perfect tense (both passato remoto and passato prossimo).

Mentre tornavo a casa, ho incontrato Giovanni - While I was going home, I met Giovanni