Past tense (passato prossimo)
- Passato prossimo
- When to use the auxiliary verb essere
- Irregular past participles
- Passato prossimo with reflexive verbs
- Passato prossimo with reciprocal verbs
The passato prossimo in Italian is a compound tense – meaning it is formed using two verbs. (Compare this to a simple tense like the passato remoto which is made from a single verb.)
Simply put, the passato prossimo is used to talk about events that happened in the past. It is formed by combining a form of the present tense of the verbs avere or essere and a past participle.
Consider the example below:
The example ho parlato means I spoke. You may recognize that the ho form of avere is used, meaning that the io subject is acting and that parlato is formed from parlare, the verb to speak in Italian.
To learn & practice the formation of the passato prossimo in Italian, watch the following video:
When to use the auxiliary verb essere
To learn & practice when to use essere as an auxiliary verb, watch the following video:
Complete the following exercise to learn & study which verbs use the auxiliary essere in the passato prossimo. Write 'essere' or 'avere' for each verb:
Irregular past participles
To learn & practice when to use irregular past participles, watch the following video:
Click the button below to reveal a list of common irregular past participles:
| Verb (Meaning) | Past Participle | |
| accendere (to turn on) | acceso | |
| aprire (to open) | aperto | |
| bere (to drink) | bevuto | |
| chiedere (to ask) | chiesto | |
| chiudere (to close) | chiuso | |
| conoscere (to know, usually in the past: met) | conosciuto | |
| correre (to run) | corso | |
| dire (to say) | detto | |
| decidere (to decide) | deciso | |
| essere (to be) | stato | |
| fare (to do, make) | fatto | |
| giungere (to arrive) | giunto | |
| leggere (to read) | letto | |
| mettere (to put, place) | messo | |
| nascere (to be born) | nato | |
| offrire (to offer) | offerto | |
| perdere (to lose) | perso | |
| prendere (to take) | preso | |
| produrre (to produce) | prodotto | |
| rendere (to give back, produce) | reso | |
| rimanere (to remain) | rimasto | |
| rispondere (to respond) | risposto | |
| rompere (to break) | rotto | |
| scegliere (to choose) | scelto | |
| scendere (to descend, go down) | sceso | |
| scrivere (to write) | scritto | |
| spegnere (to turn off) | spento | |
| spendere (to spend) | speso | |
| succedere (to happen) | successo | |
| tradurre (to translate) | tradotto | |
| vedere (to see) | visto | |
| venire (to come) | venuto | |
| vincere (to win) | vinto | |
| vivere (to live) | vissuto |
Complete the following exercise to study common irregular past participles. Write the irregular participle for each verb:
Passato prossimo with reflexive verbs
Click on the button below to review a list of the most common reflexive verbs:
| Verb | Meaning | |
| abituarsi | to get used to | |
| accorgersi (di) | to become aware (of) | |
| addormentarsi | to fall asleep | |
| alzarsi | to get up | |
| annoiarsi | to get bored | |
| arrabbiarsi | to get angry | |
| asciugarsi | to dry oneself | |
| chiamarsi | to be named | |
| coprirsi | to cover oneself | |
| divertirsi | to have fun | |
| farsi il bagno | to take a bath | |
| farsi la barba | to shave | |
| farsi male | to hurt oneself | |
| girarsi | to turn oneself | |
| innamorarsi (di) | to fall in love (with) | |
| lamentarsi | to complain | |
| laurearsi | to graduate | |
| lavarsi | to wash oneself | |
| lavarsi i capelli | to wash one's hair | |
| lavarsi i denti | to brush one's teeth | |
| mettersi | to put on (clothing) | |
| mettersi a + infinitive | to begin to, to start to | |
| muoversi | to move oneself | |
| pettinarsi | to comb one's hair | |
| preoccuparsi | to worry | |
| prepararsi (per) | to get ready (for) | |
| radersi | to shave | |
| ricordarsi | to remember | |
| rilassarsi | to to relax | |
| riposarsi | to rest | |
| sbagliarsi | to be mistaken | |
| sbrigarsi | to hurry | |
| sciogliersi | to melt | |
| sposarsi (con) | to to get married (to s.o.) | |
| svegliarsi | to wake up | |
| trasferirsi | to move (place of residence) | |
| trovarsi | to fall asleep | |
| truccarsi | to put on makeup | |
| vergognarsi | to be ashamed | |
| vestirsi | to dress oneself |
One of the advantages of rendering reflexive verbs in the past tense is that the auxiliary verb is always essere and thus a decision between avere & essere is not necessary. Watch the following video for more information on the formation of the passato prossimo with reflexive verbs:
If you feel fairly comfortable with reflexive verbs, you should study the following deck of cards about what somebody does before going to work. Be sure to adjust the settings so you are prompted by the picture first:
Passato prossimo with reciprocal verbs
Building off of knowledge of reflexive verbs, one can easily transition to reciprocal verbs. These verbs only occur in the plural because, as the name implies, the actions of the verbs are always directed toward another person. They are often translated with "each other", as in abbracciarsi: they hug each other.
Complete the following exercise to learn & study common reciprocal verbs. Write the reciprocal verb each picture represents: