lui parlava

was speaking, was talking

p a r ˈl a . v a → parlare

parl to speak, to talk + ava 3rd-person singular imperfect

verb · 3rd-person singular, imperfect tense Common #6,058

was speaking, was talking The imperfect can also describe a habitual action in the past: “used to speak” or “used to talk.”

IT: Mia sorella parlava al telefono.

EN: My sister was talking on the phone.

Conjugation of parlare

parlare parlarne parlarle parlargli parlarmi parlarti parlarvi parlarci parlarmene parlar parlarlo parlartene

Indicative imperfect

	Singular	Plural
First	parlavo	parlavamo
Second	parlavi	parlavate
Third	parlava	parlavano

Tom non parlava in francese con noi.

Tom didn't speak French with us.

A volte Tyler parlava per me.

Sometimes Tyler spoke for me.

— Fight Club (1999)

Quel diavolo bianco parlava cinese.

That white devil spoke Chinese.

— I peccatori (2025)

Lei parlava solo in tedesco.

She only spoke German.

Tom parlava in esperanto.

Tom spoke Esperanto.

Layla parlava in arabo, ma era americana.

Layla spoke Arabic, but she was American.

Andremo in quel posto di cui parlava Quinn nel Jersey.

We'll go to that place Quinn was talking about in Jersey.

— Marty Supreme (2025)

La gente ne parlava.

People were talking about it.

— Senna (2010)

Mia madre lo parlava e volevo essere come lei.

My mother spoke it and I wanted to be like her.

— Norimberga (2025)

Parlare, parlava.

Talk, he did.

— I lunedì al sole (2002)

Parlava mai degli omicidi di Ghostface?

Did he ever talk about the Ghostface murders?

— Scream 7 (2026)

Parlava spesso di te.

He often talked about you.

— Atlantis - L'impero perduto (2001)

Lui parlava in esperanto con un forte accento russo.

He spoke Esperanto with a strong Russian accent.

Non parlava l'inglese quando arrivò in Inghilterra.

He didn't speak English when he arrived in England.

Tom mi ha detto che lui parlava francese.

Tom told me he spoke French.

Paulie ne parlava.

Paulie talked about it.

— Quei bravi ragazzi (1990)

Mary non parlava fino ai tre anni.

Mary didn't speak until she was three.

Tom parlava soltanto in francese.

Tom only spoke French.

Mary mi ha detto che non parlava il francese.

Mary told me that she didn’t speak French.

Camminava per la casa, si sedeva sulla sua sedia, parlava con la sua voce.

He walked around the house, sat in his chair, spoke with his voice.

— Psyco (1960)

David non parlava molto.

David didn’t talk much.

Questo è il luogo di cui parlava mio padre.

This is the place my father talked about.

— Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Il Castello dell’Infinito (2025)

Parlava senza sosta e basta.

He just talked non-stop.

Mentre parlava, non smetteva un attimo di preparare panini.

While he was talking, he never stopped making sandwiches for a second.

Tutti sapevano che parlava molto bene l'inglese.

Everyone knew that he spoke English very well.

La donna che ha risposto al telefono parlava in francese.

The woman who answered the phone spoke French.

Se vuoi saperlo, da molto non mi parlava di te.

If you want to know, he hasn't spoken to me about you in a long time.

— Parla con lei (2002)

Robertson era alto, robusto e parlava a bassa voce.

Robertson was tall, stout, and spoke in a low voice.

Lei parlava in berbero.

She spoke in Berber.

Tom parlava come se sapesse tutto.

Tom spoke as if he knew everything.

Mi è sembrato strano, con i suoi occhiali da sole, il modo in cui parlava.

It seemed strange to me, with his sunglasses, the way he spoke.

— Nouvelle Vague (2025)

Parlava con calma e non smetteva di sorridere.

He spoke calmly and kept smiling.

— Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Il Castello dell’Infinito (2025)

C'era quest'uomo che non parlava mai.

There was this man who never spoke.

— Quei bravi ragazzi (1990)

Parlava guardando sempre per terra.

He spoke while always looking at the ground.

Chang mi parlava, ma non Io sentivo.

Chang was talking to me, but I couldn't hear him.

— Lussuria - Seduzione e tradimento (2007)

Parlava spesso della sua migliore amica.

She often spoke about her best friend.

— Mangiare bere uomo donna (1994)

Dicevi che tua madre parlava tedesco.

You said that your mother spoke German.

— Norimberga (2025)

La donna che rispose al telefono parlava in francese.

The woman who answered the phone spoke French.

Era Camus quello che parlava sempre di morte?

Was Camus the one who always talked about death?

— Eternity (2025)

Non si parlava di morte, ma di vita.

It wasn’t about death, but about life.

— Ricky Gervais: Mortality (2025)

Tom parlava in francese.

Tom spoke French.

Zeca mi parlava come se mi conoscesse.

Zeca spoke to me as if he knew me.

— La pelle che abito (2011)

Parlava di politica.

He was talking about politics.

— Il conformista (1971)

Mia madre parlava cinque lingue.

My mother spoke five languages.

Non cui non parlava da dieci anni.

Not one he hadn't spoken to in ten years.

— Parla con lei (2002)

Parlava raramente.

He rarely spoke.

Lui parlava senza sosta e basta.

He just talked non-stop.

Non parlava più.

He didn't speak anymore.

— Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

L'altro giorno, a scuola, se ne parlava.

The other day, we were talking about it at school.

— The Way He Looks (2014)

Mentre parlava mi venne un'idea.

While he was speaking, I had an idea.

Che parlava del tempo.

Who was talking about the weather.

— It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

Pensavo fossi uno specialista, da come parlava mio padre.

I thought you were a specialist, from the way my father talked.

— I Swear (2025)

Parlava come se conoscesse tutto.

He spoke as if he knew everything.

Parlava da solo.

He was talking to himself.

Quando si è risvegliato, parlava un'altra lingua.

When he woke up, he was speaking another language.

— The Big Sick - Il matrimonio si può evitare... l'amore no (2017)

Parlava solo in tedesco.

He only spoke German.

Sounds similar to

parlavo p a r ˈl a . v o parlavi p a r ˈl a . v i