stava cercando

was looking for

→ stare

phrase Uncommon #10,771

was looking for Used for an action that was ongoing in the past.

IT: Stava cercando le chiavi.

EN: He was looking for the keys.

Stava cercando la sua penna.

He was looking for his pen.

Tom stava cercando qualcosa da mangiare.

Tom was looking for something to eat.

Mary disse che ti stava cercando.

Mary said she was looking for you.

La stava cercando?

Was he looking for her?

Perché la stava cercando?

Why was he looking for her?

Mary ha detto che stava cercando aiuto.

Mary said she was looking for help.

Stava cercando una moschea.

He was looking for a mosque.

Mary sapeva che Tom la stava cercando.

Mary knew Tom was looking for her.

Perché li stava cercando?

Why was he looking for them?

Giusto, ma cambiando continuamente argomento, cosa stava cercando, secondo te?

Right, but by constantly changing the subject, what was he looking for, in your opinion?

— Anatomia di una caduta (2023)

Nina stava cercando una via di fuga.

Nina was looking for an escape route.

— Una di famiglia (2025)

Perché le stava cercando?

Why was he looking for them?

Trovò quello che stava cercando.

He found what he was looking for.

Mary disse che vi stava cercando.

Mary said she was looking for you.

Lo stava cercando?

Was he looking for it?

Bruno stava cercando del cibo.

Bruno was looking for food.

Ho sentito che stava cercando me.

I felt he was looking for me.

Mary sapeva cosa stava cercando.

Mary knew what she was looking for.

Stava cercando le chiavi nella borsa ma non le trovava da nessuna parte.

She was looking for her keys in her bag but couldn't find them anywhere.

Mi stava cercando.

He was looking for me.

— Predator: Badlands (2025)

Mary mi ha detto che stava cercando Tom.

Mary told me she was looking for Tom.

Tom disse che stava cercando un volontario.

Tom said he was looking for a volunteer.

Chi stava cercando?

Who was he looking for?

Tom ha detto che stava cercando ulteriori volontari.

Tom said he was looking for more volunteers.

Sami stava cercando un lavoro.

Sami was looking for a job.

Sapeva cosa stava cercando.

He knew what he was looking for.

Mi è stato detto che stava cercando una babysitter.

I was told that she was looking for a babysitter.

Signora, è lei che stava cercando mio padre?

Madam, are you the one looking for my father?

— Central do Brasil (1998)

Disse che la stava cercando.

He said he was looking for her.

Ziri stava cercando delle prove.

Ziri was looking for evidence.