Italian Past Tense - Passato Prossimo

Italian ⋙ Italian A1

Welcome to our Italian grammar course for beginners! Today we`re going to talk about the Past tense - Passato Prossimo.

The Passato Prossimo is one of the essential past tenses in Italian. Passato Prossimo allows speakers to talk about past events, actions, and experiences. It`s the most common way to express completed actions in the past, making it essential for storytelling, sharing personal experiences, and discussing historical events. Here`s a comprehensive overview of Passato Prossimo.

Passato Prossimo is a compound past tense in Italian. This is the most commonly used past tense in Italian. This means we use it to talk about the past. Usually, Passato Prossimo appears together with time expressions such as:
and others.
It is the equivalent of the English present perfect and past simple. We can translate that in two ways, as in the examples:

It is formed by using a auxiliary verb (e.g., "have" or "has") and a past participle.

Verb conjugation of "avere" in the Present Tense:

Subject	Avere (It.)	To have (Eng.)
Io	ho	I have
Tu	hai	You have
Lui / Lei	ha	He/She/It has
Noi	abbiamo	We have
Voi	avete	You have
Loro	hanno	They have

Verb conjugation of "essere" in the Present Tense:

Subject	Essere (It.)	To be (Eng.)
Io	sono	I am
Tu	sei	You are
Lui / Lei	è	He/She/It is
Noi	siamo	We are
Voi	siete	You are
Loro	sono	They are

Passato Prossimo is formed using two elements:
The present tense of the verbs "avere" (to have) or "essere" (to be) + the past participle of the main verb.

We gave the present tense conjugation of these two verbs above. Here`s a guide on how to form the past participle.

Regular Past Participles

- ARE Verbs.
To form the past participle of regular -ARE verbs (verbs ending in -ARE), replace the -ARE ending of the infinitive with -ATO.
Example:


- ERE Verbs.
To form the past participle of regular -ERE verbs (verbs ending in -ERE), replace the -ERE ending of the infinitive with -UTO.
Example:


- IRE Verbs.
To form the past participle of regular -IRE verbs (verbs ending in -IRE), replace the -IRE ending of the infinitive with -ITO.
Example:

Irregular Past Participles

Some Italian verbs have irregular past participles that do not follow the regular pattern. These irregular past participles must be memorized.
Examples:

Passato Prossimo with avere

Let`s look how to form Passato Prossimo with the verb "avere" for regular verbs. For example, let`s use the verb "mangiare" (to eat):

Passato Prossimo with essere

Speaking about "avere" we should notice that it is used with the majority of verbs. On the other hand, some verbs use "essere" as the auxiliary verb, especially when indicating changes of state or motion. Also we should use "essere" for verbs that don`t take an object and actions refers back to the subject. It`s very important to know which verbs take "essere." Here are some common ones:
Before to explain how to use the verb "essere" in the Passato Prossimo, we need to mention a detail.

When "essere" is used as the auxiliary verb, the past participle must agree in number and gender with the subject. This agreement applies to reflexive verbs and certain intransitive verbs indicating motion/change of state. Here`s how the agreement works:

Examples:

Now let`s look at the all forms of the verb "andare" (to go) in the Passato Prossimo:
Don`t forget that not all verbs use "essere". The past participle agreement applies only when "essere" is used.

Passato Prossimo with both: avere and essere

Some verbs can use both "avere" and "essere" as the auxiliary verb, depending on their context and meaning. Sometimes using the verbs "avere" and "essere" together with these verbs can change the meaning of the sentence.
Examples of verbs that can use both "avere" and "essere" as the auxiliary verb:
Cominciare (to begin)
Passare (to pass, to spend)


Overall, Passato Prossimo is a fundamental tense that underpins effective communication and language proficiency in Italian, because it is used for completed actions in the past. Whether for daily interactions, storytelling, or more advanced language skills, mastering Passato Prossimo can be a key goal for Italian language learners. Good luck!