The Past Tense in Italian: A Comprehensive Guide to the Passato Prossimo
In this post we’ll take a look at the past tense in Italian, known as the passato prossimo. First, we’ll start with a quick summary of how the tense is used in comparison to other past tenses. Next, we’ll look at how the tense is formed. After that we’ll turn to past participles of regular Italian verb. Then we’ll tackle the most common irregular past participles. After that we’ll see verbs that use essere (to be) as an auxiliary in the past tense instead of avere (to have). Finally, we’ll do a general review so that you can test yourself.
What is the Passato Prossimo?
The passato prossimo is one of the most commonly used past tenses in Italian. It is used to describe completed actions that happened in the past, often with a clear connection to the present. There are a few other past tenses used in Italian, but the most straightforward is the passato prossimo. Compare:
- ho parlato
I spoke, I have spoken
passato prossimo: most common past tense for use in spoken Italian - io parlavo
I was speaking, I used to speak
imperfetto: used to talk about ongoing, habitual, or repeated actions in the past - avevo parlato
I had spoken
trapassato prossimo: used when you want to emphasize that something had happened before something else - parlai
I spoke
passato remoto: used mostly in writing or formal storytelling, although sometimes used conversationally in certain regions
The passato prossimo is the past tense that you want to use if you’re talking about what you did yesterday, last week, or just a moment ago. It’s the one that most commonly corresponds to the English simple past.
- Ieri ho mangiato una pizza deliziosa.
Yesterday I ate a delicious pizza. - Sono andato al cinema sabato scorso.
I went to the cinema last Saturday. - Cosa hai detto?
What did you say?
Forming the Past Tense in Italian
The passato prossimo is a compound tense, meaning it is formed with an auxiliary verb (essere or avere) and the past participle of the main verb.
Auxiliary Verbs
There are two auxiliaries that you use in Italian with the past tense. Avere (to have) is used with most verbs, especially transitive verbs that take a direct object. This is similar to English: have done, has spoken, and so on.
- Ho comprato un libro.
I bought a book. - Abbiamo dormito bene.
We slept well.
Essere (to be) is used with intransitive verbs, verbs of movement, verbs that express a change of state, and all reflexive verbs. In this case, the past participle acts like an adjective and agrees with the subject.
- Paolo è arrivato tardi.
Paolo arrived late. - Maria è arrivata tardi.
Maria arrived late. - Siamo andati a Venezia in treno.
We went to Venice by train. - Ci siamo lavati i capelli
We washed our hair.
Regular Past Participles
Regular past participles follow specific patterns depending on the verb’s infinitive ending:
- -ARE verbs: Drop –are and add –ato
parlare (to speak) > parlato
mangiare (to eat) > mangiato - -ERE verbs: Drop –ere and add –uto
vendere (to sell) > venduto
credere (to believe) > creduto - -IRE verbs: Drop –ire and add –ito
dormire (to sleep) > dormito
finire (to finish) > finito
Practice A
Give the past participle for each verb.
- parlare
- mangiare
- comprare
- vendere
- ricevere
- credere
- dormire
- capire
- partire
- finire
Common Irregular Past Participles
Some verbs do not follow the regular patterns and have irregular past participles. Here are some of the most common:
- aprire (to open) > aperto
- bere (to drink) > bevuto
- chiedere (to ask) > chiesto
- conoscere (to know) > conosciuto
- correre (to run) > corso
- cuocere (to cook) > cotto
- dire (to say) > detto
- essere (to be) > stato
- fare (to do) > fatto
- leggere (to read) > letto
- mettere (to put) > messo
- morire (to die) > morto
- nascere (to be born) > nato
- perdere (to lose) > perso
- piacere (to like) > piaciuto
- prendere (to take) > preso
- produrre (to produce) > prodotto
- rimanere (to remain) > rimasto
- rispondere (to answer) > risposto
- rompere (to break) > rotto
- scendere (to go down) > sceso
- scrivere (to write) > scritto
- vedere (to see) > visto
- venire (to come) > venuto
- vivere (to live) > vissuto
If the verb takes avere as an auxiliary, there’s just the one form. But if it takes essere, there are four forms, following the four adjective endings. More on that in a moment.
- Ho letto un libro interessante.
I read an interesting book. - Ha scritto una lettera.
He wrote/She wrote a letter. - L’insegnante ha risposto a tutte le nostre domande.
The teacher answered all of our questions. - Stamattina abbiamo bevuto un sacco di caffè.
We drank a lot of coffee this morning.
Practice B
Complete each sentence with the past participle of the verb in parentheses. Then translate the complete sentences.
- Ho _____ un libro. (leggere)
- Hai _____ una lettera. (scrivere)
- Hanno _____ la verità. (dire)
- Abbiamo _____ un caffè al bar. (bere)
- Ho _____ i compiti. (fare)
- Hai _____ un taxi per andare a casa? (prendere)
- Ha _____ un bel film al cinema. (vedere)
- Ho _____ la giacca sull’attaccapanni. (mettere)
- Sono _____ a casa tardi ieri sera. (venire)
- È _____ in Francia per dieci anni. (vivere)
Past Tense in Italian with Essere
Verbs that take essere in the passato prossimo generally fall into these categories:
- Verbs that express movement: andare (to go), venire (to come), entrare (to enter), uscire (to go out), arrivare (to arrive), partire (to leave), tornare (to return), salire (to go up), scendere (to go down).
- Verbs that express a state or change of state verbs: nascere (to be born), morire (to die), crescere (to grow), diventare (to become), rimanere (to remain), restare (to stay).
- Reflexive verbs: svegliarsi (to wake up), lavarsi (to wash oneself), alzarsi (to get up), vestirsi (to get dressed).
When essere is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. It takes the same four agreement endings that adjectives do. For example, andare (to go) has: andato, andata, andati, andate.
- Marco è andato al lavoro.
Marco went to work. - Giulia è tornata a casa.
Giulia returned home. - Noi siamo usciti ieri sera.
We went out last night. - Le ragazze sono arrivate tardi.
The girls arrived late. - Ci siamo svegliati presto.
We woke up early.
Practice C
Restate the following sentences in the passato prossimo. Then translate.
- Vediamo un film. (vedere)
- Mangio una pizza. (mangiare)
- Escono di casa presto. (uscire)
- Scriviamo una lettera. (scrivere)
- Prendi il treno per Roma. (prendere)
- Vado in montagna. (andare)
- Finisce il lavoro alle 18:00. (finire)
- Beviamo un bicchiere d’acqua. (bere)
- Nasce un bambino. (nascere)
- Dico sempre la verità. (dire)
- Dormo fino a tardi. (dormire)
- Tornano a casa tardi. (tornare)
- Apri la finestra. (aprire)
- Faccio una torta. (fare)
- Arrivo a scuola alle 8:00. (arrivare)
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Answer Key
A
- parlato
- mangiato
- comprato
- venduto
- ricevuto
- creduto
- dormito
- capito
- partito
- finito
B.
- Ho letto un libro. (I read a book.)
- Hai scritto una lettera. (You wrote a letter.)
- Hanno detto la verità. (They told the truth.)
- Abbiamo bevuto un caffè al bar. (We drank a coffee at the bar.)
- Ho fatto i compiti. (I did my homework.)
- Hai preso un taxi per andare a casa? (Did you take a taxi to go home?)
- Ha visto un bel film al cinema. (He saw/She saw a nice movie at the cinema.)
- Ho messo la giacca sull’attaccapanni. (I put the jacket on the coat rack.)
- Sono venuto/a a casa tardi ieri sera. (I came home late last night.)
- È vissuto/a in Francia per dieci anni. (He lived/She lived in France for ten years.)
C.
- Abbiamo visto un film. (We saw a film.)
- Ho mangiato una pizza. (I ate a pizza.)
- Sono usciti/e di casa presto. (They went out of/left the house early.)
- Abbiamo scritto una lettera. (We wrote a letter.)
- Hai preso il treno per Roma. (You took the train to Rome.)
- Sono andato/a in montagna. (I went to the mountains.)
- Ha finito il lavoro alle 18:00. (He finished/She finished work at 6 PM.)
- Abbiamo bevuto un bicchiere d’acqua. (We drank a glass of water.)
- È nato/a un bambino. (A baby was born.)
- Ho detto sempre la verità. (I always told the truth.)
- Ho dormito fino a tardi. (I slept late.)
- Sono tornati/e a casa tardi. (They returned home late.)
- Hai aperto la finestra. (You opened the window.)
- Ho fatto una torta. (I made a cake.)
- Sono arrivato/a a scuola alle 8:00. (I arrived at school at 8 AM.)
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