Tabla de Contenidos
Currently, in Italian, the passato prossimo is used more than the passato remoto, even to express actions that occurred in the distant past.
For example, the explorer Giovanni Belzoni was born in 1778. In the past tense, it would be written: Giovanni Belzoni nacque nel 1779. However, it is customary to use the passato prossimo: Giovanni Belzoni è nato nel 1779, as if this had happened last week.
Interestingly, in southern Italy, the passato remoto is used to describe events or actions that happened yesterday or earlier in the day, almost instead of the passato prossimo.
How is the passato prossimo formed?
The passato prossimo is probably the first compound tense that is usually studied in Italian. The verb is expressed and conjugated by combining two elements: an auxiliary verb, which can be essere or avere, conjugated in the present tense, and the past participle of the main verb. It is important to note that the past participle must agree with the number and gender of the subject.
The conjugation of the verb essere in the present is:
- Io sono
- Tu sei
- Lui/Lei è
- Noi siamo
- Voi siete
- Loro sono
The conjugation of the verb avere in the present is:
- Io ho
- Tu hai
- Lui/Lei ha
- Noi abbiamo
- Voi avete
- Loro hanno
When to use essere or avere
To form the passato prossimo, the most common question that arises is which verbs go with essere and which with avere. Generally, transitive verbs are thought to be conjugated in passato prossimo with avere and intransitive verbs with essere. However, this has exceptions: most transitive verbs with a direct object go with avere. But some intransitive verbs can also go with avere. And other verbs can go with either of the two, depending on their use. Reflexive and reciprocal verbs and verbs of movement or condition of being (to be born and to die) go with essere. Although some verbs from those groups can also go with both essere and avere.
To avoid confusion, the following rule can be taken into account: if only the object is affected by the action, then go with avere. For example, Ho mangiato la pizza (I’ve eaten the pizza); or Ho visto il cane (I have seen the dog). Instead, if the subject is also affected in some way by the action, go with essere. For example: Mi sono perso (I have lost myself); Loro sono andati a Roma (They have gone to Rome).
Another example of verbs that go with essere to form the passato prossimo is the verb andare. This is a verb of movement that uses essere as its auxiliary, therefore it is conjugated in passato prossimo as:
- Flavio è andato a Parigi. “Flavio has gone to Paris.”
- Anna è andata a Roma. “Anna has gone to Rome.”
- Marco e Lucia sono andati a Torino. “Marco and Lucia have gone to Turin.”
Other examples of when to use avere or essere
In Italian, there are other verbs that present exceptions when it comes to forming the passato prossimo. This is the case of the verb guardare (to see/look). Like other verbs, it can be used in the transitive, intransitive, reflexive, and reciprocal modes. Its past participle is guardato.
In transitive mode, for example, to say “today we have seen a film”, use avere: Oggi abbiamo guardato un film. The past participle is not modified. Instead, in the intransitive, reflexive, and reciprocal forms, the same verb guardare goes with essere:
- Le donne si sono guardate nello specchio (reflexive). “Women looked at themselves in the mirror.”
- Sara e Giovanni si sono guardati e sono scoppiati a ridere (reciprocal). “Sara and Giovanni looked at each other and burst out laughing.”
- Mi sono guardata bene dal dirglielo (intransitive pronominal). “I avoided telling him.”
What is the past participle
The participi passati or “past participles” are essential in forming the passato prossimo. It is one of the indefinite versions of a verb, among which are also the infinitive and the gerund. The past participle is needed for all compound tenses of verbs, the passive voice, phrases with adverbs, and when the past participle is used as an adjective.
The regular past participle of a verb in Italian is formed by removing the endings -are, -ere, and -ire from the infinitive. Depending on the case, the suffixes –ato, –uto, and –ito are added to the verb root. For example, the past participle of mangiare is mangiato; that of bere is bevuto; and the one to feel is sentito. However, there are many irregular participles, especially in verbs that are part of the second conjugation: scrivere, scritto; vedere, visto. Therefore, it is convenient to look up these exceptions in the dictionary and try to memorize them little by little.
Examples of sentences in passato prossimo
To better understand how the passato prossimo works, let’s look at some examples:
- Ti ho mandato un’email ieri sera. I sent you an email last night.
- Questa settimana ho visto Antonietta quattro volte. “This week I saw Antonieta four times.”
- Ieri abbiamo mangiato da Giulia. “Yesterday we ate at Giulia’s house.”
- Avete studiato oggi? Did you study today?
- Mi sono diplomato cinque anni fa e lavoro da due anni. “I graduated five years ago and have been working for two years.”
- Questa notte sono uscito presto. “I left early tonight.”
- Sono arrivati i fratelli di Gianlucca. “Gianlucca’s brothers have arrived.”
Bibliography
- Espasa Calpe. Italian Grammar: The ultimate guide for learners of Italian of all levels. (2019). Spain. Planet.
- Editorial Larousse. Italian Express Method. (2018). Spain. Larousse.
