PASSATO PROSSIMO
The most common way of expressing the past tense in Italian is with the "passato prossimo" (present perfect), composed of an auxiliary verb (avere or essere) and the past participle. It is the verb tense most commonly used when referring to the past in spoken Italian. The following are perfectly correct and used expressions using the "passato prossimo":
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Italian Past Tense
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Ho
Hai
Ha
Abbiamo
Avete
Hanno
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~ato (with ~are verbs)
~uto (with ~ere verbs)
~ito (with ~ire verbs)
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Sono
Sei
È
Siamo
Siete
Sono
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~ato/a/i/e (with ~are verbs)
~uto/a/i/e (with ~ere verbs)
~ito/a/i/e (with ~ire verbs)
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Italian Present Perfect
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avere vs essere
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“avere” Verbs
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“essere” Verbs
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“avere” & “essere” Irregulars
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Pronoun
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Parlare
(to speak)
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Sapere
(to know)
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Finire
(to finish)
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Partire
(to go)
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Vedere
(to see)
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Nascere
(to be born)
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I
You
He/She
We
You
They
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Io
Tu
Lui/ lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
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Ho parlato
Hai parlato
Ha parlato
Abbiamo parlato
Avete parlato
Hanno parlato
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Ho saputo
Hai saputo
Ha saputo
Abbiamo saputo
Avete saputo
Hanno saputo
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Ho finito
Hai finito
Ha finito
Abbiamo finito
Avete finito
Hanno finito
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Sono partito
Sei partito
È partito
Siamo partiti
Siete partiti
Sono partiti
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Ho visto
Hai visto
Ha visto
Abbiamo visto
Avete visto
Hanno visto
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Sono nato
Sei nato
È nato
Siamo nati
Siete nati
Sono nati
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As you may have noticed in the table above, most verbs are conjugated with “avere”, however some verbs are conjugated with “essere”.
As mentioned in the “past participle” lesson, regular form simply add (~ato, ~uto, ~ito) to the stem of verbs, depending on the type of verbs, if the verbs in the infinitive ends with ~are, then add ~ato: parlato (the verb parlare), add ~uto to the verbs ending with ~ere: creduto (the verb credere), and finally add ~ito to verbs ending in their infinitive with ~ire: partito (the verb partire)
Note that some verbs take their past participle with the verb “avere”, while some other verbs take their past participle with the verb essere (usually motion verbs)
Also note that the past participle of verbs associated with “essere” should agree with the number and gender, so for example partito (gone) can also be sono partita (I went, for a female)/ siamo partiti (we men went…)/ siete partite (you females went)
Verbs going with “avere” don’t have to agree with the number and gender, look at the examples in the table above.
Remember: to form the past participle with verbs conjugated with “essere” the gender and number matter, but not with verbs conjugated with “avere”.
Irregular Forms: memorize the verbs that take irregular forms in the past participle such as:
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Verb/ Past participle /English
Fare: fatto (done)
Aprire: aperto (opened)
Chiedere: chiesto (asked)
Chiudere: chiuso (closed)
Coprire: coperto (covered)
Dare: dato (given)
Dire: detto (said)
Leggere: letto (read)
Mettere: messo (put)
Offrire: offerto (offered)
Perdere: perso (lost)
Prendere: preso (taken)
Scrivere: scritto (written)
Spendere: speso (spent)
Vedere: visto (seen)
Vivere: vissuto (lived)
Rompere: rotto (broken)
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So you don’t have to add (ato, uto, ito) to these verbs on the top, take their whole new form and place an auxiliary verb “avere” or “essere” before them.
Verbs that go with “essere”, most of them are verbs of motion…here is a list:
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Italian Verbs with Essere
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Verb
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Translation
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Past Participle
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andare
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to go
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andato
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arrivare
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to arrive
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arrivato
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cadere
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to fall
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caduto
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diventare
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to become
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diventato
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entrare
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to enter
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entrato
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essere
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to be
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stato
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morire
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to die
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morto
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nascere
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to be born
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nato
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partire
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to leave
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partito
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rimanere
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to remain
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rimasto
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salire
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to get into
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salito
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scendere
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to get out of
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sceso
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succedere
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to happen
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successo
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tornare
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to return
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tornato
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uscire
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to go out
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uscito
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venire
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to come
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venuto
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Except these verbs on the top, 90% of the rest of verbs go with “avere”.
Imperfetto
The "imperfetto" is typically used to express:
- Continuous or habitual actions in the past: "Quando ero in Italia andavo al ristorante tutti i venerdì" (When I was in Italy I went to the restaurant every Friday). If the action is not habitual in the past, we would use the past perfect: "Quando sono stato in Italia l'anno scorso, sono andato al ristorante tre volte" (When I have gone to Italy last year, I have been to the restaurant three times)
- Descriptions in the past: "Negli anni '50 Venezia aveva una popolazione di 150.000 abitanti" (In the '50s Venice had a population of 150,000 inhabitants).
- Physical, mental or emotional state in the past: "Da bambino avevo paura del buio" (When I was a child I was afraid of the dark).
The "imperfetto" is quite regular and is built by stripping the infinite of the verb of the suffix -re and adding the "imperfetto" suffixes, as follows:
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Mangiare
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Avere
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Finire
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Mangia-vo
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Ave-vo
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Fini-vo
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Mangia-vi
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Ave-vi
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Fini-vi
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Mangia-va
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Ave-va
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Fini-va
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Mangia-vamo
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Ave-vamo
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Fini-vamo
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Mangia-vate
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Ave-vate
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Fini-vate
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Mangia-vano
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Ave-vano
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Fini-vano
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The verb "essere" is irregular and needs to be learnt by heart:
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Essere
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Ero
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Eri
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Era
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Eravamo
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Eravate
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Erano
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