If you are studying verbs and your level is approximately an A1 or A2 you need to master Italian Passato prossimo. Passato prossimo is used in everyday conversations and follows a clear structure. In this article you’ll understand it and use it.
- What is passato prossimo?
- The structure: auxiliary+past participle
- How to form past participle
- Passato prossimo with AVERE
- Passato prossimo with ESSERE
- Past participle accordance with ESSERE
WHAT IS PASSATO PROSSIMO?
Passato prossimo is a past tense used to describe actions that happened and where completed in the past.
It corresponds to two English structures depending on context:
EX. Ho mangiato una pizza
” I ate a pizza ” – ” I’ve eaten a pizza ”
Sono uscita
” I went out last ” – ” I have gone out ”
THE STRUCTURE AUXILIARY+PAST PARTICIPLE
Passato prossimo is a compound tense made of two words : the AUXILIARY (helping verb) conjugated in the present tense plus the PAST PARTICIPLE of the main verb.
The auxiliary verbs are essere(to be) or avere(to have) used in the present tense; which one you use depends on the main verb.We will cover this in detail in section 4 and 5.
HOW TO FORM PAST PARTICIPLE
The past participle(participio passato) is the second element of passato prossimo. For REGULAR VERBS forming it is simple: remove the infinitive ending and replace it with a fixed suffix.
- ARE verbs take -ATO(past participle suffix)
EX. parlARE becomes parlATO
mangARE becomes mangiATO
lavorARE becomes lavorATO
- ERE verbs take -UTO(past participle suffix)
EX. avERE becomes avUTO
credERE becomes credUTO
vendERE becomes vendUTO
- IRE verbs take -ITO(past participle suffix)
EX. dormIRE becomes dormITO
capIRE becomes capITO
finIRE becomes finITO
Irregular past participle – learn these first
Many common verbs have irregular past participles that do not follow the pattern above. The most important to memorise are : fare–FATTO, essere–STATO, dire–DETTO, scrivere–SCRITTO, leggere–LETTO, aprire–APERTO, vedere–VISTO, prendere–PRESO.
PASSATO PROSSIMO WITH AVERE
We use the auxiliary avere with TRANSITIVE VERBS. Transitive verbs are verbs that can take a direct object. Direct objects are fragments of the sentence that answer the question: What? or Who?
ex. Ho mangiato una pizza – ” I ate(what?) a pizza ” → auxiliary avere
ex. Ho visto Claudia – ” I saw(who?) Claudia ? ” → auxiliary avere
When you use avere as an auxiliary, the past participle remain always the same.
PASSATO PROSSIMO WITH ESSERE
The auxiliary essere is used with IN-TRANSITIVE verbs and reflexive verbs. Intransitive verbs are verbs that indicate: MOVEMENT, CHANGE OF STATE, IMMOBILITY.
ex. Voi siete venuti a scuola – ” You came to school ”- MOVEMENT→auxiliary essere
ex. Loro sono stati a casa – ” They stayed at home ” – IMMOBILITY → auxiliary essere
ex. Laura è cresciuta – ” Laura has grown up ” – CHANGE OF STATE →auxiliary essere
PAST PARTICIPLE ACCORDANCE WITH ESSERE
When you use the auxiliary essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject, just like an adjective. It has four possible forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural.
ex. Marco è arrivatO tardi – masculine singular → -O ” Marco arrived late ”
ex. Sofia è arrivatA tardi – feminine singular → -A ” Sofia arrived late ”
ex. I ragazzi sono arrivatI tardi – masculine plural → -I ” The boys arrived late”
ex. Le ragazze sono arrivatE tardi – feminine plural → -E ” The girls arrived late ”
EXERCISES
Try to complete the gaps and put the answers in the comments.
1 Ieri io ___(mangiare) la pasta
2 Marco ___(anare) a Firenze la settimana scorsa
3 Noi ___(vedere) quel film
4 Le ragazze ___(uscire) ieri sera
5 Tu ___(finire) i compiti ?
6 Loro ___(tornare) dall’Italia due giorni fa
GOOD PRACTICE
Think about 10 things you did yesterday and write them down. Practice makes perfect.
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