practically, chiedevo can be translated in 2 ways in english 1. gli chiedevo di spiegarmi queste cose, quando lui ha detto.... I was telling him to explain to me these things, when he said.... (a single continuing action in the past) 2.gli ciedevo queste cose ogni volta che lo vedevo....I asked him these things every time I saw him (repeated action in the past) It's exactly what freethinker said, only with examples

it's the imperfect tense of the verb 'chiedere', i.e. to ask. The imperfect is frequently used in Italian. It expresses the English "used to" and is used to describe actions or conditions that lasted an indefinite time in the past. It's also used to express an habitual action in the past and to describe time, age, and weather in the past.

Usually we use /chiedevo/ when referring to /ask in order to obtain/, and /ho chiesto/ when the meaning is about /information/, but this is not a strict rule. Examples: -- chiedevamo solo giustizia nella piazza, per risposta hanno mandato i soldati -- il professore mi ha chiesto cose che per fortuna conoscevo bene e cosi` (therefore) ho superato l'esame. -- chiedevo di avere un equipaggiamento migliore per la scalata (better equipment for climbing), ma non c'era piu` tempo.