One of our subscribers has asked about the difference between two verbs: immaginare and supporre. Of course, both verbs have English cognates: "to imagine" and "to suppose." But knowing when and how to use them is not always obvious. Let's focus first on immaginare, and we'll save supporre for an upcoming lesson. 

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Immaginare

The verb immaginare can be transitive and it matches up with the English meaning of "imagine." In an episode of Sposami, Ugo wants some comprehension from Nora. She gives him a snappy retort.

Per una volta nella vita, cerca di capirmi, prova a immaginare la situazione. -Cosa devo immaginare, Ugo? L'ho vista la scena.

For once in your life, try to understand me, try to imagine the situation. -What should I imagine, Ugo? I saw the scene.

Captions 36-38, Sposami EP 5 - Part 20

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It can be intransitive and still corresponds to English: 

Ma immagina quando fra dieci, vent'anni il mercato richiederà soltanto calcolatori elettronici.

But imagine when, in ten, twenty years, the market will be asking for electronic calculators only.

Captions 27-28, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 15

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Immaginare can be used with a reflexive ending to add some personal reinforcement.

Immaginati la sorpresa quando ho scoperto che dopo tutti questi anni eri diventata... Un poliziotto? -No! Bellissima!

Imagine [for yourself] my surprise when I discovered that after all these years you had become... A cop? -No! Beautiful!

Captions 6-9, Il Commissario Manara S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 14

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In English, when we give a short answer, we usually say "I can imagine," in other words, using a modal verb before the main verb. In Italian, we can just use the verb itself with no modal verb before it. 

Poi io so' [sono] passato a lavorare nello studio e mi occupo un po' di tutto... un incarico di fiducia. -Immagino.

Then I began working in the office and I handle a little bit of everything... a position of trustworthiness. -I can imagine.

Captions 54-56, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP1 I Bastardi - Part 11

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We can also use the modal verb potere (to be able to) as an option.

Non mi sono ancora ripreso da questa tragedia, ve lo confesso. -Posso immaginare.

I haven't yet recovered from this tragedy, I'll confess it to you. -I can imagine.

Captions 6-7, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP4 Gelo - Part 10

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The verb immaginare is also used like "to suppose,"  "to think," "to believe," and "to guess." Although we used the cognate in the translation to facilitate remembering the word, other words could work, too. This is a case in which immaginare and supporre are interchangeable. 

Immagino che vorrà parlarmi di Donata Miulli.

I imagine that you will want to talk to me about Donata Miulli.

I suppose that you will want to talk to me about Donata Miulli.

I guess that you will want to talk to me about Donata Miulli.

Caption 30, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 23

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Since both verbs have to do with hypothesis rather than certainty, they often take the subjunctive when followed by the conjunction che. 

Immagino che si tratti del sequestro De Carolis.

I guess [that] it is about the De Carolis kidnapping.

Caption 61, Il Commissario Manara S2EP10 -La verità nascosta - Part 7

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In English we often say, "I suppose so," "I think so," "I guess so," etc. It's important to keep in mind that in Italian, this "so" is expressed with di sì. We translated immagino di sì with "I imagine so," but it could also have  been "I guess so" or "I think so."

Ma, quindi, Grazia faceva la modella? Immagino di sì. Casa sua era piena di foto di questo tipo, quindi immagino di sì.

But, so, Grazia was a model? I imagine so. Her house was full of photos like this, so I imagine so.

Captions 60-61, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone EP4 Gelo - Part 5

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In Part 2, we'll focus on supporre.

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In a lesson with Daniela, we learn another way to set the scene of a story. We talked about using the presente (present simple) and passato prossimo (present perfect) in a previous lesson. Now we’ll talk about using the imperfetto (imperfect tense) to set the scene in the past without specifying the duration or pinpointing the moment in time of an action. We use the imperfetto to describe the characteristics of something in the past.

Allora, l'imperfetto viene usato per fare descrizioni di paesaggi, del tempo, delle qualità di una persona o di una cosa, al passato.

So, the imperfect is used to describe landscapes, weather, features of a person or a thing in the past.

Captions 30-32, Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 2

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In the following example, Lara, from the popular Commissario Manara TV series, is talking to an old classmate whom she met up with by chance. They are telling each other about their past feelings.

This is how she felt when she was younger:

Mi sentivo un brutto anatroccolo.

I felt like the ugly duckling.

Caption 4, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 14

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And this is how her friend Massimo felt about her!

Io ero innamorato pazzo di te!

I was crazy in love with you!

Caption 2, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 14

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The following example describes an ongoing condition in the past.

A scuola avevo sempre problemi con la matematica.

At school, I always had problems with math.

Caption 13, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi positivi e neutri - Part 3

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The following example is interesting because we see the passato prossimo (siamo visti /we saw) used when pinpointing the moment (l’ultima volta / the last time). Still, the imperfetto (eravamo / were) sets the scene.

Ma lo sa l'ultima volta che ci siamo visti dove eravamo?

But you know where we were the last time we saw each other?

Eravamo al porto di Istanbul.

We were at the port of Istanbul.

Captions 23-24, La Ladra - Ep. 2 - Viva le spose - Part 6

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For how to form the imperfetto, please see Daniela’s previous lesson.

Practice: Try setting the scene in the past using the verbs Daniela talks about in the lesson, and other verbs you know. If you’re not sure how to form the imperfetto of the verb you wish to use, look it up in an online dictionary such as WordReference. Think about the place, how old the person was, what the person looked like, and what the person was wearing. How did the person feel?

Here’s something to get you started.

Quando ero giovane e andavo a scuola, suonavo il flauto nell’orchestra della scuola. Mi piaceva molto. Andavo a scuola in autobus tutte le mattine. Ci mettevo circa venticinque minuti per arrivare a scuola. Non era un’epoca molto felice per me. Non studiavo abbastanza, e quindi mi sentivo sempre a disagio in classe e avevo sempre paura delle interrogazioni. Preferivo stare nella sala di musica a studiare flauto. Cantavo anche nel coro. La maestra del coro era bravissima e tutti l’amavano.

When I was young and was going to school, I played flute in the school orchestra. I liked it a lot. I went to school by bus every morning. It took me about twenty-five minutes to get to school. It wasn’t a very happy time for me. I didn’t study enough so I was always afraid of being called on to answer the teacher’s questions. I much preferred hanging out in the music room to study flute. I also sang in the choir. The director was excellent and everyone loved her.

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Of course, when we tell a story, we like to mix the tenses up to create interest and tension, but for now, let’s try to get to where we feel comfortable using the imperfetto and know more or less when and how to use it.