Passato Prossimo
Practice:Passato Prossimo
The passato prossimo is one of several past tenses in Italian and is probably the one you will use most. It is used to describe actions that were completed in the past, such as:
- I took the exam last Friday.
- We went to Italy two months ago.
It can also be used to describe an action that began in the past but continues to apply to the present, such as:
- I have been to Italy three times in my life.
- We have not finished the exam yet.
The passato prossimo is a compound tense, meaning it is made up of two verbs. The first verb is a conjugated form of essere or avere; the second is the past participle of the main verb. Let's get on to an example that will help you understand the tense and the terminology used to describe its components:
| Mario ha mangiato la pizza. | Mario ate the pizza. |
In this example, ha is the conjugated form of avere. Conjugated just means that the verb has a particular ending that goes with the subject, in this case the lui/lei form of the verb to agree with Mario. Following, mangiato is called the past participle of the main verb mangiare (to eat).
Past participles are formed from the infinitive of the main verb by dropping the –are, –ere, or –ire and adding –ato, –uto, and –ito, respectively. For example:
| infinitive | past participle |
|---|---|
| parlare | parlato |
| credere | creduto |
| finire | finito |
Forms
The chart below lists forms of verbs in the passato prossimo, conjugated with avere and essere. Consider the forms and the questions that follow.
| parlare | andare | credere | mettere | capire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| io | ho parlato | sono andato/a | ho creduto | ho messo | ho capito |
| tu | hai parlato | sei andato/a | hai creduto | hai messo | hai capito |
| lui,lei,Lei | ha parlato | e' andato/a | ha creduto | ha messo | ha capito |
| noi | abbiamo parlato | siamo andati/e | abbiamo creduto | abbiamo messo | abbiamo capito |
| voi | avete parlato | siete andati/e | avete creduto | avete messo | avete capito |
| loro | hanno parlato | sono andati/e | hanno creduto | hanno messo | hanno capito |
Looking at these conjugations should make you think about two issues:
- Why use essere with andare and not with the other verbs?
- Why is messo the past participle of mettere?
Essere vs. Avere
When verbs are used in the passato prossimo, some go with essere and some with avere. The choice often appears more difficult than it really is. Keep the following points in mind:
- All transitive verbs (verbs that have objects, like mangiare - to eat, scrivere - to write, suonare - to play, telefonare - to call) go with avere.
- Many verbs that indicate movement (e.g. andare - to go, venire - to come, uscire - to go out, partire - to depart), go with essere.
- Many verbs that indicate stasis or immobility (e.g. stare - to stay, essere - to be, restare - to stay, rimanere - to remain), go with essere.
- Many verbs that indicate a change of state (e.g. cambiare - to change, diventare - to become, nascere - to be born, morire - to die, ingrandire - to get bigger) go with essere.
- All reflexive verbs (e.g. arrabbiarsi - to get angry, lavarsi - to wash oneself, chiamarsi - to be called) go with essere.
While it is a good idea to keep these rules in mind, it may also be helpful to memorize common verbs that go with essere. When you learn new verbs in your textbook or from your dictionary, those verbs that go with essere in the passato prossimo will be flagged for you. Put these on notecards!
Past Participles
Many verbs have irregular past participles. Examples include the following:
| infinitive | past participle | |
|---|---|---|
| bere | bevuto | |
| decidere | deciso | |
| dire | detto | |
| essere | stato | |
| fare | fatto | |
| leggere | letto | |
| mettere | messo | |
| morire | morto | |
| nascere | nato | |
| perdere | perso | |
| prendere | preso | |
| rimanere | rimasto | |
| scrivere | scritto | |
| vedere | visto | |
| venire | venuto |
Keep a chart of all the irregular past participles as you learn them, in your notebook or on notecards, to review before quizzes and exams.
These past participles are important to know not only for the passato prossimo, but for several other compound verb tenses (e.g. past perfect, future perfect, past conditional, and past subjunctive). If you learn them well the first time, you will have less work later on.
Practice Exercises