Regolare, which sounds very much like "regular" is both a verb (to regulate, to adjust) and an adjective (normal, standard, regular, legitimate).

In questo corridoio io ho anche il condizionatore dell'aria calda e fredda, che mi aiuta un po' a regolare la temperatura.

In this corridor, I also have a hot and cold air conditioner, which helps me to regulate the temperature a bit.

Captions 28-29, Marika spiega - Il corridoio

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

As an adjective, regolare comes up a lot when talking about verbs and conjugations.

Come vedete, il verbo è regolare nella formazione della desinenza,

As you can see, the verb is regular in the formation of its ending,

Caption 14, Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 2

 Play Caption

Note that we also have the noun la regola (the rule), and often the adjective regolare refers to following the rules or the law, such as in the following example. Note also that the opposite of regolare is irregolare, just as "irregular" is the opposite of "regular." 

Ma per eliminare l'immigrazione irregolare e clandestina bisogna favorire quella regolare.

but to eliminate illegal and clandestine immigration, we need to favor the legitimate kind,

Caption 23, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie - Part 14

 Play Caption

As a verb, it can also be used reflexively: regolarsi, and that's how it's used in this week's episode of Commissario Manara.  Manara is asking his team to adapt to the theme of the party: the eighties. He might also have meant, "Figure it out," or "Control yourselves." 

Il tema della festa è anni ottanta, quindi regolatevi.

The theme of the party is the eighties, so act accordingly.

Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 11

 Play Caption

This reflexive form is used a lot when discussing how to behave, how to react to a particular situation.

Mi regolo (I adjust my schedule, my opinion, or my actions [according to something]).

When used in the negative, it usually means I can't or won't control myself. I'm not careful, not disciplined. 

Quando mangio al ristorante, non mi regolo (when I go out to eat, I don't watch what I eat).

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

This isn't all there is to the common verb/adjective regolare. We will try to address additional subtleties as they come up in future videos. Meanwhile, if you have questions about how to translate "regular" or any other English words you're having trouble finding the Italian equivalent of, please let us know, and ci regoleremo (we'll figure out how to help you).

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

 Play Caption

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

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.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

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.